#think this is the first time i've come up with a proper AU at ALL so um! i'm going to call this
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girlfailureboylosercom · 1 day ago
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Ex-literature Student Hyperfixates on Haikyuu Characters and launches off their rocker
the title says everything.
i got too silly trying to plan a hrhs yuri au fic and ended up deciding to do an analysis on the Kamomedai team (its mostly hrhs. my bad guys)
I'll be analysing volumes 38-41 in this post!! If I miss out on certain panels or misinterpret moments, that's my bad. Most of the panels I'll be putting here are taken irl, so they might not be that easy to read 😞🙇
This is also an opportunity for me to dissect my brain and figure out why I took a liking to these characters. I LOVE ANALYSIS and genuinely wish there was more over Haikyuu, especially on themes and characters and their philosophies!
so, what will I be focusing on in this analysis?
Kamomedai's philosophy, importance + message
Hirugami Sāchiro and
Hoshiumi Kōrai's significance in the story of Haikyuu
Coach Murphy's connection to HRHS' philosophies
If there are any topics I've failed to list here but have explored in this analysis, please understand that I was simply too excited to write and may have forgotten to list them here!
Word Count (excluding titles): 4838
Hirugami Sachiro
His Backstory
of course, whenever Sachiro is brought up, his backstory is the first thing that automatically pops into mind. It's tragic but even worse, it's realistic. It stuck with me the first time I read the entire manga, but I couldn't figure out why. I knew it resonated with me, reminding me of the several burnouts I witnessed in multiple kids around me at school, but that reasoning wasn't enough. So I supposed that pushed me to write this analysis haha!
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From these panels, it's safe to say that Sachiro did have love and passion for the sport. He practically grew up with it- his parents and siblings played it, and they eventually went down the path of going pro. It would be no surprise that he was bound to follow in their footsteps. It was natural. There's no confirmation and this is more like a theory/headcanon, yet I believe that his family did have these expectations for him or placed pressure on Sachiro to play volleyball, whether or not they intentionally meant to. When you grow up with a family of star athletes who all did the same sport, why would you do something different? In the manga, Hirugami states that if he just 'straight up quit' volleyball there and then, there would be a whole set of problems. We could assume that maybe their coach would be upset, but this could be another hint that his family would not take the news that well. Perhaps his parents would be the more judging ones. Since he has all of these expectations and the pressure to improve and earn respect and acknowledgement from his family, it wasn't a surprise that this mindset would eventually turn sour and cause Sachiro to crash. We even have some supporting evidence for this, and it (strangely) comes from Atsumu.
Atsumu states that he knew Hirugami was always this good, but the way he played was 'like a man possessed', and watching him gave Atsumu the impression that he was on edge at all times. In the panel that displays Atsumu's recollection of his original impression of (middle school) Hirugami, we can see that the Miya Twins are completely fine compared to Hirugami who is panting like a dog, tired out and not looking in top shape. I don't think it's a far-fetched assumption to say that Hirugami was just forcing himself to play the sport, to keep on going and giving his all despite his body protesting, trying to tell him that he's reached his limit. But the mind can be stubborn and Hirugami's mind was also dead set on goalless/vague improvement; He wants to build more muscle, not let anyone outdo him, and not get left behind- all these goals don't have a proper end and that's harmful. Of course he's going to force himself to continue whether or not his body gets the rest it deserves. To him, there's no such thing as a rest day. Hirugami doesn't believe he gets to rest until he finally achieves or stops chasing the improvement he desires. But there's no end to the goals he wants to achieve. If Hoshiumi didn't stop him, how long would've Hirugami been aimlessly chasing his own demise?
Hoshiumi & Hirugami's Middle School Relationship (sub-category of Hirugami's backstory)
I think that Hoshiumi and Hirugami have quite similar philosophies! Both are centered around hard work and the need to improve, to become better. However, here's the difference: Hoshiumi's more accepting, acknowledging the harsh reality that he's weak. There are stronger people out there, which is why he NEEDS to be competitive and strive for improvement in order to avoid lagging behind his competition. If Hoshiumi makes any mistakes, he most likely would take it as a learning opportunity and eventually shrug it off. He already knows he gives everything his all, so any mistakes he encounters are not an outcome of laziness or lack of effort. On the other hand, Hirugami's is more degrading. It's harsher, taking any mistake he makes and echoing it back at him in a harmful manner, telling him that he could've- should've done better, that there were ways Hirugami could've gotten that last point, that the smallest mistake he made would affect the way he and his team played. There's no room for error because if there is, then there's something wrong with him. And because of their difference in philosophies, I believe that led them to interact when Sachiro finally crumbles and hurts himself.
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While re-reading Sachiro's backstory, I got the impression that he and Hoshiumi barely interacted during their middle school days, so I asked myself: why would Sachiro tell Hoshiumi, an all-time bench warmer, that he doesn't like volleyball? The few times we've seen middle school Hoshiumi and Hirugami interact besides the self-harm scene were they only getting brief glimpses of one another. The panel above shows Hirugami briefly noticing Hoshiumi, acknowledging that he's still practising this late at night, then shrugging it off and walking back to the canteen. Well, Hoshiumi just helped him out of a daze during a difficult moment. Hirugami's head is now above the deep, dark water called his thoughts, so he's most likely disorientated. He's shaken up by the pain in his knuckles that are finally alerting his senses and at the same time, he's settled on a simple conclusion: He doesn't like volleyball anymore. And in that moment of silent anguish, who else could he let out this confession to? Any walls Hirugami has put up during this time are now knocked down by raw vulnerability. He needs to speak and ground himself, to let his mind finally acknowledge that he doesn't want to continue playing volleyball like this. And it just so happens that Hoshiumi is also there to hear this statement. There is no hesitation in Hoshiumi, not when he offers a tissue for Sachiro to clean up his bloodied hands, not when he listens to Hirugami's sudden, sensitive confession and simply asks, "Okay. Why don't you quit?", a question that Hirugami didn't consider nor thought possible before. He doesn't coddle but offers Sachiro advice that he could take or leave behind. Korai doesn't forcefully press the tissue packet into Sachiro's hands, nor continues to show his discomfort at the sight of the other boy's wounds despite the response being natural. His steadiness and composure are reassuring, allowing Hirugami to take his time to calm down and process his thoughts and the advice that Hoshiumi has given him. Also, Hoshiumi's advice is structured more like a conversation, if that makes sense. Hoshiumi is straightforward and honest and his words hold no flattery when he points out Hirugami's strengths, something that he can't achieve as easily as the other could. He's not making a big deal out of the situation and is staying calm yet helpful, which is essential. Because of his approach and advice, Hoshiumi unknowingly helps to give Hirugami an entirely new perspective, when he probably intended to only stop him from harming himself even further. (I also believe that Hirugami revealed this thought to Hoshiumi because sometimes, people find it easier to talk to strangers than the family or friends that they are close to.)
Little note: I love how supportive HiruHoshi are of one another!! Throughout the manga, we can see how close they are; Hoshiumi has always been there for Hirugami, ever since they first properly interacted in middle school until the end of their high school days. And of course, during adulthood. Hirugami visibly reciprocates this by taking the time to understand Hoshiumi, learning his story and other things like his thought process and quirks in volleyball.
Sachiro's View on Volleyball
One of the special arts that included Hirugami called him 'dispassionate' and I found that very interesting. It highlights his whole stance on volleyball; He likes it, but after all that he's been through, Hirugami would rather leave it behind and watch from the sidelines. He likes it, but he's not going to get overwhelmed by it again, unlike the other Kamomedai members or characters in Haikyuu. This time, Hirugami has set the goal of playing volleyball only until the end of high school. Knowing that he will get to quit after all these years, that these long periods of burnout will finally come to an end, its a relief to him. Hirugami still has a love for volleyball, but he understands that his relationship with the sport will not go back to the original, passionate state that it was before. And he's accepted that. He wants to play the sport without getting drowned in those overwhelming thoughts, he wants to have fun and not let volleyball take over his life. It doesn't matter if his talent in volleyball gets wasted. So what if it does? Hirugami knows what he wants in life now and wants to pursue it.
Dispassion can come off as someone having no passion, but that's not true; it's simply another meaning for being calm and not letting emotion take over logic.
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Parallels with Asahi
Also noted that he and Asahi have some parallels! Not as much or obvious as Hinata and Hoshiumi, but it's there! Even the summary for Volume 40 acknowledges this!
Both characters have had a past with or are currently experiencing overthinking, along with how it affects their attitude and behaviour during games and or in general. Their arcs are connected to their mental health/well-being and how volleyball, the sport they play, are closely intertwined. However, Asahi's character does seem to be more centred around anxiety and how it can affect his gameplay and social life. Meanwhile, Sachiro's character has a more intense focus on the depression that can come from burnout and the effects it can develop. Yet both of these characters share the pressure of needing to be better, the need to live up to certain expectations that have been placed on them consciously or not. For Asahi, it's being the ace. And for Sachiro, it used to be, well, being good at volleyball.
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Throughout the entire story of Haikyuu, we can note that Asahi is still trying to get over the overthinking that his anxiety has given him- he's struggling with the thoughts, which have been shown to affect his plays and his relationships. Asahi is learning to have more faith in his abilities, to go easier on himself and stop wallowing in his negativity. Meanwhile, Sachiro is shown to have already gotten past that. Has he made a full recovery? I don't think so. But he's shown to have not been affected by expectations anymore; He's over that burden and he knows that even if things get tough, volleyball is just a game. If he makes a mistake, Sachiro knows he won't die. It's a sport he enjoys, but there are simply other things in life that he has more passion for. He's just currently focusing on having fun with volleyball and trying his best.
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Hoshiumi Kōrai
The Little Giant Legacy
If you care about either Hinata or Hoshiumi, you would know that the cause of their rivalry is the pursuit of the 'Little Giant' title. It makes sense after all! Both players are considered astoundingly short for their sport, have great jumping lengths and are considered amazing players by their team, just like the original Little Giant, Udai (who changed his mind on the pursuit of volleyball and went on to do manga instead). Personally, I believe that the moment their rivalry was officially solidified was actually at the end of Chapter 361 and the beginning of Chapter 362!
This panel was when Hoshiumi started to develop some respect for Hinata, recognising him as a potential rival he wanted to go against. But before it, when Hinata jumps and manages to spike the ball against Kamomedai's defence, Hoshiumi recalls a statement he made earlier, one he gave to the interviewer: "Yes, being short is a disadvantage...but it isn't a sign of incompetence."
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And this panel establishes just how similar they are. They haven't heard one another's philosophies, yet they share it already. Gao acknowledges it with an expression of unease, and even Sachiro thinks, "He's just like Korai-kun." For this part, I will focus on these four people due to their connection with one another: Hinata, Hoshiumi, Udai and Coach Washijo. These four characters have experienced how height can be an extreme hurdle to overcome in sports.
According to Udai, the original 'Little Giant', he talks about how he knew he was the ace back in the day and how he deserved to feel confident over it. However, as Udai grew up, it is implied that the pressuring competition experienced at nationals most likely got to him. Udai assumed that if he trained himself even more, and focused on improving his skills and technique, it would be enough to keep up. But there was one thing he forgot to factor in: mentality. In fact, I think Udai does acknowledge this as well! It's why he politely shoots down Akiteru's comparison compliment of his and Hoshiumi's playstyle. Udai points out during the match that if he was in one of the situations that Hoshiumi was in, he would've failed at scoring as he would've spiked the ball down instead of back, a sign that the block intimidated him and made him retreat. "Hoshiumi has far better skill and decision-making than I ever did." Referring to Volume 41, Udai gives this mental narration while watching Hoshiumi set the ball to Hirugami: 'Know your weaknesses. Accept them. Forget the weapons you can't wield. Find all the ones you can...and carefully, persistently hone them all to a wicked point. That is what it means...to be a Little Giant.' Between these two pages, we can note that Udai is also eagerly watching Hoshiumi's play, with a determination that we can conclude from that if Udai had to pass down the title personally to anyone, he would most definitely choose Hoshiumi. If Hinata has Coach Washijo rooting for him, then Udai is the one who is silently applauding for Hoshiumi from the sidelines. (Fun fact! In Volume 45, in a small panel that features Udai, we can see him drawing his second manga series and the main character looks reallyyyy similar to Hoshiumi,,,)
All four characters know that they are weak when it comes to volleyball. However, Udai and Washijo are the ones to have been shown to crumble under that knowledge, accompanied by other factors that have made them resign from the court and pursue another path. Yet, that other path is still connected to volleyball. For Udai, it was making a manga based on it; For Coach Washijo, it was becoming a coach and only cultivating those with strong potential.
Coach Washijo has been burdened by the knowledge that his height restricted his ability to play so severely that it's firmly become a staple of his philosophy, that he'll only take in the strongest and biggest, keeping that mindset for 40 years. He only starts to change his mind when Hinata enters the scene; Not when Udai started playing and became Karasuno's ace years ago. Yet, Coach Washijo remains resistant to the idea that a player like Hinata or Hoshiumi can make it. (We don't see what he thinks about Hoshiumi, but I think his view would be similar to how he views Hinata, but not as personal 🤷) Over the time of Haikyuu- and by the time we reach the Kamomedai vs Karasuno match, Washijo's mindset has already begun shifting into a more positive view. He's started becoming more open and eager to the idea of a 'Little Giant', finally accepting that the harsh reality he faced back then is now possible to overcome. I believe that the match and the development of the fun rivalry between Hoshiumi and Hinata contribute to it, even if it isn't hinted at that often.
Turning back the focus onto Hoshiumi and Hinata, their rivalry is simply a beautiful thing to witness, especially considering the legacy both these players are chasing and discovering the respect they have for one another despite being one another's biggest competition. (also something something about the monster generation players on the Adlers team being the people who are the top three rivals Hinata has experienced in the entirety of the story,,,,yeah)
Referring to a panel from Volume 41 (again), Hoshiumi confesses to Hirugami that compared to other competitor teams, where he states that he simply wants to go through them no matter how good they were, Karasuno is one that he truly wants to beat. This intimidating statement sends a shiver up Hirugami's spine, which is something considering the handful of panels we get of him making a sadistic expression throughout this match. From this interaction between the two, we can interpret that up until this point, Hoshiumi did give his all to help his team win against several other teams to get to Nationals, but most likely didn't experience much competitive thrill during those matches and had to hype himself up by beating opponents who would underestimate him due to his smaller stature. Yet now, he finally gets the competition he desires. In Nationals, every team has been proven to be good. No one's planning to overestimate or underestimate anyone, there's simply no time for that. The time on the court is precious, meant to be used to win against whichever team is on the other side of the net. And like a cherry on top, there is someone like him. Someone gunning for the same thing he desired- Hoshiumi and Hinata's relationship can be classified under 'mirror characters'. Or in a more literary viewpoint, parallels. Typically, this trope is used to give the protagonist a rival, which is one of the reasons why Hoshiumi was created. Hoshiumi's role in the story is necessary as considering the other two main 'rivals' Hinata faces in the story (Ushijima as the Privileged Rival and Kageyama as the Main Rival, referring to TV Tropes), both of them seem to have more of the upper hand due to their height and long experience with getting the chance to play on the court consistently. With the presence of Hoshiumi, his character further drives the message that whether or not you have been given blessings from the start or have access to certain opportunities, working hard & smart along with having passion are also essential elements that you require in order to achieve the success you want.
"They come to us with solid, undeniable strength, and make us choose them."
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The Need For Competition
Disclaimer: I do NOT have any siblings. So if I do accidentally miss-analyse anything in this section, I sincerely apologize 🙇 But yeah. Akitomo. Although we BARELY see him for the rest of the manga, he still has an essential role- if not, why do we need him in the first place? Furudante gives every character a purpose, whether or not they're major or minor. From Kōrai's backstory, we can see that he and his brother have your usual competitive sibling rivalry and whatnot. Akitomo bullies him and Kōrai retorts. But I think that this manga panel solidified Kōrai's need to be competitive and the desire to drive himself to improve in every area of volleyball possible (besides his mother's helpful advice that also plays a huge role in his philosophy).
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This was the utter devastating realisation that he was so much weaker than Akitomo, despite Akitomo not knowing how the fuck to play volleyball. Kōrai learned that sport, dedicated and invested himself into it, yet here comes his brother, easily taking away the spotlight and spiking the ball without breaking a sweat. Just a jump and a hit, and boom. He could be replaced like that. Akitomo has always teased Kōrai over his height, yet this moment was most likely one of several that Hoshiumi experienced and solidified his understanding of how weak he was, and there were some things that he simply couldn't change from just effort and hard work alone. But with Asa's advice, Kōrai also understood that just because some doors were shut to him didn't mean the rest were. Some doors required a bit of prying to open, while some were already waiting to be discovered, and all Kōrai needed was to find and sharpen the required tools. Throughout the manga, there is a theme of competitiveness and how it affects the lives of the high school players on the court. We see how it affects them for the better and also the worse. We see how regardless of its positive or negative effects, these teenagers strive for improvement, to learn how to work with others as a team, and the list goes on. Hoshiumi is an example of a character who has a good balance of competitiveness and passion, which keeps him going in his pursuit of being good at volleyball. But in a moment of vulnerability (not defeat), he suddenly turns to Gao during the match and admits that there were times when he'd given up a little, starting to feel there were limits to the height he could reach. I believe that this statement was essential for Hoshiumi to admit out loud, as it further shows us that even a character as confident and competitive as him can eventually start to feel the pressure of keeping up and even almost let it get to him. But it seems that by the end of the manga, all the effort Hoshiumi has put into his own improvement in both body and mind, along with letting his competitiveness drive his passion instead of control him, he manages to achieve not only a spot on one of the best V1 League teams in Japan but also becomes a player on the Japan National Team for the Olympics. The seeds he's sown have finally grown and now Hoshiumi can reap his rewards as he rightfully deserves.
Someone once told me that competition was simply part of human nature. It can come in forms we never thought possible, but it's still there. Sports, academics, collections, status, and so on. It doesn't matter what form this competitiveness comes in, but it does matter how we use it in our lives. Do we let it control us and our desires in turn? Or do we use it as fuel to strive for improvement, to make a positive change in our lives and for others as well?
Kamomedai's Message
The Importance Of A Coach
Aaron Murphy is the coach for Kamomedai and according to the manga, his background and qualifications make him stand out amongst the range of other coaches we've seen in the story. He's a coach for one of Italy's Pro Series A leagues for years, took a Japan V2 League team and made them V1, and many kids on the volleyball team purely attended Kamomedai High just to play for him. He's a pro through and through- you'd expect him to be harsh, to have multiple well-detailed training schedules for his team, to push the limits of his players- similar to Coach Washijo, who's also a coach for a powerhouse school that is amazing at volleyball and set up to be one of the biggest antagonists Karasuno will ever face. But he's not! He seems to be a far cry from that. According to an onlooker (and referencing the manga again), people view him as a coach who doesn't seem to stand out too much, despite knowing he has an incredible record of being one. Meanwhile, Coach Washijo only looks for players with raw strength and power, the ability to intimidate and rule the court with their impressive height and skill and he will cut them off from their position if they refuse to listen to him. He's painfully harsh and it's evident in the way we've seen how his players react when he merely calls their names. Coach Washjio is intimidating and fierce, something you'd expect from a coach who has cultivated a team that's produced some of the most impressive players in the history of Haikyuu. Yet this treatment stems from his background, where Washijo was not allowed to play volleyball because of his height. We don't know a lick of Coach Murphy's backstory, but that's okay! It's unrequired to dissect his importance and why someone like him fits perfectly with Kamomedai's message and significance in the story, along with implied effects on Hirugami and Hoshiumi's philosophies.
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Earlier, I stated that Udai gave up on volleyball because the pressure of intense competition got to him. It was good that he knew that improving his skills and technique could help him make up for his height, but Udai forgot about improving one thing that Coach Murphy had emphasised when training the Kamomedai team: Mindset. (Or more accurately, mental toughness) Through short moments in Volume 41, we can see that Coach Murphy focuses on mental training. Furudante could've shown us how intensely he trains Kamomedai, as he does mention that serving and blocking are the other two skills that he wants to train the team in (and Kamomedai is well-known for those two aspects), but we only get a brief panel showing us how sweaty and exhausted the whole team is. Yet, during that moment, the focus is on Coach Murphy talking about mindset, before directing the team to scenario practice. In the same volume, Akaashi recognizes that not one, not two, but the whole Kamomedai team is capable of doing task focus throughout the game, something that he barely managed to do in Volume 38. Akaashi is a character that is typically perceived as someone who is very calm and collected due to his analytical nature, but in Fukurodani matches we get to see that he doesn't have a good view of himself and tends to have negative thoughts that are similar to Asahi. A character like Akaashi noticing and making this connection further emphasizes how the players on Kamomedai are exceptional at their way of thinking, besides their serves and blocking.
We can see that his teachings have effects on his players and that's great! Reflecting on my earlier comparison between him and Coach Washijo, his methods are tough and intensive, but they're not excessive and seem to value both physical and mental health equally. Although Coach Murphy and Coach Washijo have years of experience training volleyball players, only one of them has experience looking over a professional team of athletes. Coach Murphy focuses on taking the players he has and helping them to hone their skills, instead of filtering through them and only picking ones who have the most potential. He looks at the cards he's dealt with and figures out how to make the best use of them. There's an air of professionalism with the way he handles and talks to his players, in my opinion- he's playful at times, but Coach Murphy's words are also grounding and firm. In a way, his method is very similar to gentle parenting (if that makes sense haha). His healthy way of teaching has affected his players, assisting them on their journey of improving their thinking in both their games and outside of the court. In Volume 41 and on the same page that the players of Kamomedai are briefly shown to be undergoing training, Coach Murphy's advice clearly addresses potential physical or mental obstacles players can face during a match- 'What happened was either a failure of your skill...or a failure of your decision-making process and mental control'. Murphy also states that they should make success a larger habit, before following up that a thought along the lines of "Oh, I'm having an off day today" isn't an excuse, unless the player themselves are sick or hurt. From this, it's implied that Coach Murphy is advising his players to pursue success but not let a negative mindset prevent them from doing so. Coach Murphy's second statement also supports the point that his training is gentle but firm by implying that he guides his players on how to properly reflect on their mistakes and spot areas of improvement before making the next step (which is solving the issue). Kamomedai's slogan is 'Habit Becomes Second Nature', which further supports the purpose and message of the team in the story of Haikyuu. Combined with Coach Murphy's teachings, it's no surprise that Kamomedai will not only grow as a team, but their players will also become people who persist despite undergoing harsh conditions. It's why they're closely linked to seagulls (and also why Hoshiumi resembles and is heavily based on one); To quote Coach Murphy, Kamome means 'seagull'. Seagulls can handle sea or sky, fair weather or foul, no matter what.
So, what is Kamomedai's purpose and message in the manga? From all the evidence I've gathered, I believe that the team exists to show the viewers and other characters in the story the importance of mindset besides skill, to carefully train yourself to persist in doing or achieving something despite obstacles in your way and that if something bad happens, it's not good to beat yourself up. Instead, careful reflection is required if you wish to improve and avoid making the same mistake again. Take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.
But then again, this analysis might be a bit biased as Kamomedai is one of my favourite teams and I've typed a crap-ton of words for this, phewwwwww. My brain is dry now. So if you have any other views on them, feel free to reply to this! I'm all up for discussion :3
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hazelnootnut · 7 months ago
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ACT 2 "You're... me?" "That's right, stardust!"
You know I've been drawing Loop as their Siffrin form so much that it's got me thinking. I've read and seen so many fics and artworks of Loop eventually getting back to looking like their old self, but I don't think I've seen any so far of Loop already being a mirror copy of Siffrin. So uh, yoink?
ISAT AU where the game plays out the same way (plot-wise at least) but Loop looks like Siffrin the whole time and while Siffrin is extremely perplexed that there's another him, he's still gotta accept their help because how else are they supposed to escape the loops? Good ol' Loop is here to help, helpful friendly Loop!
Siffrin is going through it still but Differently.
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pantherxrogers · 2 months ago
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return the favor (royalty au) - mark lee x fem!reader 18+
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pairing: prince!mark lee x princess!reader (engaged to be married)
warnings: smut directly below the cut!!! (minors dni), fingering, dirty talk, explicit language, inexperienced reader, arranged marriage (but it's a love match)
summary: prince mark would do absolutely anything for you, his princess. sometimes that means means missing part of your engagement ceremony, but neither of you seem too mind too much.
wc: ~1k
a/n: random idea that popped into my head, so i ran with it. i've been doing a lot of short works recently, but i want to keep this au going (possibly???). let me know what you guys think!
my masterlist
All kpop stories are works of fiction and are not meant to represent real events or the actual personalities of any K-pop idols mentioned. All characters and situations are purely imaginary. These stories are created for entertainment purposes only, and no harm or disrespect is intended toward the idols or their fans. Enjoy!
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"y-your grace, please. our absence will be noted," you whine, clenching uncontrollably around your fiancée’s slender fingers. mark’s chuckle gets buried into your neck, alongside the hot kisses he sears into your skin.
"my love, none of them are sober enough for that," he coos, curling his fingers against that spongy spot inside of you. it makes your eyes roll back, an orgasm brewing in the pit of your stomach.
the pair of you are a royal sight to behold. mark whisked you away from your joint ceremony into a spare room inside his family's castle. now, he has your dress hiked up, undergarments askew, stretching you open with his fingers.
"mmm, please." your whines border on desperate, hands tightly gripping mark's wrist. the responsible part of you knows that you should stop mark and drag him back to the party. but, lust has silenced any rational thought.
"i'll give my princess anything she wants. just ask," his deep voice fills your ear, heat spreading throughout your body. the soft brush of his lips against your lobe nearly sends you over the edge, all of your sense heightened.
"m-my lord. please, it's not proper," you whisper, attempting to bury your face into mark's shoulder.
"my darling, it's only me and you in here. there's no need to be proper," he assures you, quickening the pace of his fingers. the rough pad of his thumb draws lazy circles against your clit, bringing you close to your orgasm but strategically keeping it at bay.
you're helplessly grinding against his fingers, seeking out as much pleasure as possible. the way mark leans against your body, trapping you against the wall makes your heartbeat quicken. he's so close, smelling divine, and spewing pure filth from his lips.
"what's going to happen on our wedding night, my love? hm?" he teases, capturing your wanton moan with a kiss. "will you be proper when i'm inside you for the first time? claiming you and securing an heir to our throne?"
"o-oh, my lord. i'm close," you squeal, overwhelmed by the crass nature of his words.
"be a good girl and ask me first, hm? don't you want to please me, my love?" spasming around mark's fingers, you do your best to keep control. "i-i can't," you sob, hot tears rushing down your face.
all of feels like too much. the way mark stares down at his fingers, seemingly enchanted by your wetness. you glance down, the hard bulge of his cock on full display. suddenly, his other hand is gripping your chin, soft shhhs pouring from his lips.
"it's okay, my love. come for me, it's alright," he coos, peppering kisses against your neck.
no sooner than the words leave his lips does your orgasm hit, overriding every thought in your mind. your back tenses and arches, white-hot pleasure blinding you as snap your eyes shut. long gone are the worries of your guards sauntering into the room, finding you lost in pleasure.
mark does his best to quiet your moans, capturing your lips with his own. his fingers gently work you through your orgasm, clamped within the warm wetness of your walls. your soft whimpers make mark's cock harden, slightly uncomfortable in his pants. but the beauty of your orgasm distracts him from the discomfort.
you rest your head against the wall, breaking the heated kiss and attempting to catch your breath. you wince slightly when mark pulls his fingers out, still feeling sensitive from your orgasm. he comforts you with a peck to your cheek, wrapping you in his embrace.
“my perfect princess,” he hums, helping your adjust your undergarments and dress. when he sucks your arousal off his fingers, locking eyes with you, it takes everything in you not to look away. your cheeks grow hot at the sight of his handkerchief, gently drying the wetness between your thighs.
you mumble your appreciation to him, still feeling shy at the way he showers you with affection. mark finds your embarrassment to be so endearing, adding to the love he feels for you.
“um, my lord?” mark hums in response, adjusting his clothes and yours. “a-are you sure you want to go out there? like that?” you murmur, awkwardly gesturing to his bulge.
his laugh is loud and warm, clear that he’s laughing with you and never at you. “my love, i will be fine. just give me a few moments,” he assures you, softly pecking your lips. you nod in agreement, losing yourself in his gentle kiss.
he pulls back abruptly, suddenly clearing his throat. “as much as i’m enjoying this, my darling....i don’t think it’s helping my situation,” he admits, dramatically glancing down at himself.
his eyes light up when you giggle, never growing tired of your beauty. you kiss his cheek, removing yourself from his hold. he laughs with you, love laced in his gaze. you’re grateful for mark, knowing that not every princess has this luxury.
when your parents announced that they were seeking a husband for you, you felt as though your world came crashing down. but that was before mark, the man who captured your heart from the beginning. among the pompous, arrogant men who paraded themselves in front of you, mark has always seen you.
“i-i feel guilty about not being able to offer you anything in return, my lord” you confess, avoiding eye contact with your lover.
“my darling, stop it.” his voice is stern yet comforting. “you give me everything just by breathing,” he declares, gently cradling your hands. pressing a delicate kiss to your knuckles, he continues. “whenever you are ready, i will be here. whether it’s in 10 years, on our wedding night, or beyond that. i want whatever you are willing and happy to give me, my love.”
his words tug at your heart strings, and the sincerity in his declaration makes you fall even deeper in love. you meet him in a kiss, a hum of surprise easing from mark’s lips. it’s not every day that you initiate affection with him but he is always welcome to receive it.
“thank you, my love. and i look forward to our wedding night,” you drape your arms around his neck, in a loose embrace. “but, i want to see you in the guest room tonight. maybe we can start practicing then?” you whisper in his ear, smirking at the catch in his breath.
your lips are swift and gentle against mark’s cheek, a quick goodbye before you step back towards the ceremony. “do try and hurry, my dear. i’d like one more dance before the party ends,” you quip, sending him a wink before you make your exit.
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starberry-cupcake · 4 months ago
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Welcome back!! I hope you're doing well and, if not, I hope my silly ramblings can make your day somewhat better, like the wildcats used to say: we're all in this together ♥
previously, in harrowcita del 9:
this happened
for those of you recently tuning in, this is the tag of all the ramblings
also, I'm officially in the sixth house now, palmolive can't stop me
CHAPTER 46
we're back inside the emperor's bolthole, which is infested
this is what happens when you have a lyctor orgy without the proper protection
gideon is doing her very best to fight the infestation of herald bees swarming and attacking her
she's in harrow's feeble small kitten baby body, so she's dying a lot
I'm gonna try to represent this visually
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gideon keeps apologizing to harrow for getting her bits chewed off and her insides pouring out
and puts emphasis on things she wants harrow to remember
"I saw it eat your thumb—these details are important, so keep up with me��and your thumb was back in the next half minute"
"Child, that bee smashed you"
"I touched your intestines, which is usually what, fourth date"
me:
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so, gideon takes off harrow's excess bones, which are no use to her, and goes further into the emperor's infested bolthole, where she finds mercygirl
mercygirl thinks gideon is harrow at first and, turns out, she was the one who stabbed her
these lyctors istg
can't trust any of them
mercygirl thinks harrow should be grateful that she stabbed her
and she was aware that harrow had "stuffed the soul of the cavalier in the back of her brain"
NOW WE'RE GONNA GET INTO SOME TERRITORY THAT MAKES ME GO ABSOLUTELY BERSERK, SO BEAR WITH ME
I NEED TO GET MY NOTES BACK FROM MY PREVIOUS RECAPS FOR THIS
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she asks what happened with gideon's eyes and, as we have seen in the previous gideon-centric chapter, gideon's eyes are in harrow's face atm, if memory serves
"You're not her—she isn't driving you—but you have her eyes. Why? When they showed me your corpse I didn't think to check the eyes"
"I thought I knew what you were, though I didn't want to believe it..."
now listen, we're starting to tie some loose ends and some of those loose ends are linked very closely to my previous theories
I have been considering the Commander Wake is Gideon's Mom and Has a Personal Connection To Gideon The First and Is The One Connected With The Harrow Notes In Canaan AU for a while now
I need to link the specific recaps where I said this because I need to be transparent about where my brain was at
Evidence A, Evidence B, Evidence C, Evidence D
there's probably more but those are pretty clear
I swear to god if I was right about this I'm gonna screencap my own recap and put it here when the time comes
I've been marinating this one for months
I actually forgot how much of that I had written down in the recaps until I re-read them
mercygirl says that she thought the commander was a bad girl workaholic who put business before family, that she made her "the dolls" and she must have "played silly buggers with the emission" and that "gideon was on her tail"
"And then Gideon ruined everything. Then the commander ruined everything. Then you ruined everything. This could have been over eighteen years ago"
apparently gideon the first was "obsessed" with the commander, which accounts for some of the notes harrow read
I'LL GET BACK TO THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE SLEEPER, MY THEORIES CONTINUE
mercygirl starts calling gideon all sorts of names, including mutant, and keeps being bothered about her eyes
"Lipochrome. Recessive. You are the evidence. He lied to us...and you are all the proof I needed" "Cytherea would have known as soon as she looked at you"
is gideon the first gideon's dad??????? I mean, I always though he might have Something with the mom but my money was on gideon being made through science rather than Traditional Means
I mean, having lyctor genes in some way would account for gideon being a demigod, something I said with those words when I was reading gideon
also, remember when not!dulcinea told gideon she was prettier than the other gideon?? because I've never forgotten
mercygirl confirms that gideon the first was sent to kill gideon's mom
who, according to mercygirl, would have hated to be called a mom
mamá luchona intensifies
all of which aligns with my theory very nicely so far
she calls gideon more names, including "abomination, you heresy, you failed ambition nineteen years too late"
gideon reacts not wanting mercygirl to touch her instinctively
man, my theories are RIGHT THERE to be fully connected I'm BITING THE DESK
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but there's no time for any more talk because mercygirl is trying to kill gideon in harrow's body
but she is stopped
she is shot
by not!dulcinea
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but I don't think this is not!dulcinea, I previously mentioned her maybe being used by someone, not sure if it's possession or being used or what's going on but I don't think this is her
I thought about gideon the first being the one to do it but if he wanted harrow dead, I'm not sure he'd save gideon now
not!dulcinea says "with a tone that wasn't" hers: "goodbye"
gideon ends the chapter with "what the fuck is going on?"
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CHAPTER 47
we're back at canaan au and it's time to perform an exorcism
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harrow has a new note
I've been connecting those notes to gideon's mom possibly commander wake (as linked above)
the latest note continues to add to my theory
"end of the line. falling. oxygen can't last the distance and won't redirect power from the payload. instead I will make you watch every moment as I get the last privilege you cannot enjoy you bygone son of a bitch. I hope you're both as sorry as I am."
I still think this is gideon's mom because that's how she died, I mean, she got to the ninth in a suit without air and gideon still had some, allegedly
I've been thinking that one of the two people involved in the situationship triangle described in the notes was gideon the first, and that maybe the other was dr reverend emperor john
he's the most likely to be a bygone son of a bitch, so maybe I'm right
so, if harrow connects the notes with the spirit that's haunting her
and I'm connecting them to gideon's mom....
what if it's her that's haunting harrow?????
I mean, Waker
I NEED TO STOP GETTING INTO THEORY TANGENTS
anyway, all of the ghoulie ghostie friends are getting together for a sleepover exorcism
I didn't use this when I should have, back when the different aus were going by, but here it is
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real!dulcinea says "Pal always said I'd be the death of him. And I was..."
he died being a weenie but he's not all the way dead, so it's fine
harrow questions why everyone wants to help her but everyone's totally fine with all this, for different reasons
real!dulcinea is "horny for revenge" (that's a tshirt for the seventh girlies right there)
protozoa is there because duty is his full personality
abby is really grateful to be asked to help (she also really likes tombs, very lara croft of her)
magnus loves his wife
ortus wants a redemption arc and now has a polycule
martita is behaving better than judith
abby asks harrow if there's anything she can remember from the slasher waker sleeper to try to pinpoint who tf it is
there's a suit, blood, a gun and gideon's sword, which is the only thing harrowcita recognizes and doesn't know where it comes from
my money is on gideon's mom, commander wake, probably also the woman in the shuttle poster that harrow saw but didn't recognize back when she met camilla
I'M PUTTING MORE CHIPS IN MY BETS EVEN IF I GET NO MORE INFO RN
harrow is very interested in how abby and magnus make it work as a married couple who are also a necro and a cav
I wonder why she's so interested
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anyway, everything goes to shit on the exorcism
like, it goes really, really badly
group project off the rails bad
I mean, they didn't even have blood
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apparently the spirit is also tethered to an object out there (the sword??????? possibly?????)
and she (she's a SHE) is pretty much invincible and shooting everyone and performing parkour while she's at it
harrow says camilla would be impressed, which is the highest praise
the sleeper waker slasher potentially gideon's mom (but not sure because it hasn't been confirmed yet) calls harrow by her name, but in a way that sounds like she's never said it before
she says it like a curse, which maybe means she knows, to some degree, how harrow was made????
she's basically doing whatever she wants over here, shooting ghosts, punching ghosts, throwing them around, regenerating, not bleeding, pulling guns out of thin air
I mean, ok, we got it, calm down lady
where was this energy when it was time to kill the emperor
she says there's "no magic" there and that "she's been doing this for years"
she wants harrow, so she can kill her and use her body to "finish it"
WHICH MAYBE MEANS KILLING THE EMPEROR???
OH MAN I DO WANT THAT TO HAPPEN
BUT NOT AT THE COST OF HARROW
also, mrs potentially gideon's mom, even if harrow dies, there's also gideon in the body right now so, it's a bit crowded atm
maybe find another way to kill the emperor
use not!dulcinea instead, if you can get the current tenant to leave
the chapter ends with: "ortus cleared his throat"
MAN, I HOPE HE DROPS SOME POETRY LINES, WE SURELY NEED THAT
and that's it for today!!!!!things are certainly heating up in the emperor's bolthole!!!! see you soon for the next installment, fingers crossed for my theories!!!
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ladykailitha · 9 months ago
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Icarus Part 12
I've decided that since I have a fair amount of backlog on the three I've been doing WIP Wednesday for, that I'd post some of them to give me time to work on the rom-com AU more.
I recommend going back and re-reading part 11 at least before reading this one to be on the safe side.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11
The Fallen boys need a break and Robin and Chrissy meet up with Nancy.
****
Things were going really well in the studio now that they had Bob Newby as their producer and their studio was closer to home so they could live their normal lives and still be in the studio recording.
It was the happiest the band had been in awhile. Which was why Steve should have seen it coming. The dark cloud on the horizon.
Shane was late.
That wasn’t to say that it was out of the ordinary or whatever, but it was now two hours late and Spence was pissed.
“When I get my hands on his scrawny neck,” he hissed. “I’m going to kill him.”
Simon rolled his eyes. “You’re just upset because it’s means you’ll be late for your date or whatever with Nadia. He’ll be here.”
“That’s not true and you know it, Asmodeus,” Spence bit out. “This is the third time this week and yeah, so what if I have a life outside of this, but that’s not why.”
Just then Shane stumbled in. He looked like absolute shit. His clothes were disheveled, his hair was a mess, and he wore dark sunglasses. Clutched to his chest was a large coffee.
“Fuck...” he mumbled as he shambled over to the sofa. He lowered himself gently onto the thing with a stream of curses. “Sorry I’m late, but my hookup last night turned off my alarm.”
He took a long sip of his coffee and rubbed his temple. He had finished most of the coffee when he realized that no one had said a word since he arrived.
The door opened and Bob and Robin entered the room looking more than a little cross.
Shane flashed them a smile. “Uh oh, it looks like I upset both mom and dad. So I was a little late. It happens.”
“But it shouldn’t be happening,” Spence said with a scowl. “This isn’t the first time. Hell, it’s not even the first time this week.”
Shane frowned, setting his coffee on the floor between his feet. He rubbed his temples as he struggled to think back. “That can’t be right, it’s only Monday, right?”
Everyone shared concerned glances.
“Astraeus,” Steve said slowly, “it’s Thursday.”
Bob crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You were late on Sunday, Monday and today, Astraeus.”
Shane stared up at them in open shock and disbelief. “There’s no way!” He pulled out his phone and looked at the date.
“Shit.”
“What’s been going on, man?” Simon asked, concerned for the first time. He hadn’t realized how often it had been and was giving Spence shit for wanting to be with his girlfriend.
Shane shook his head. “I have money for the first time in my life. I mean proper money. My parents always had enough to make sure we got into the things we wanted; sports, drama, music, you name it, but there wasn’t a lot of money to go around after, you know? I had to pay for my college education myself and I just wanted to live a little. Spread the money around, even if I couldn’t tell them what I did for a living, they don’t really care.”
“I can see that,” Robin said. “I think we all breathing easier, regardless of our backgrounds because the money we’re getting has pretty much set us up for life if it all went to shit tomorrow, which I really wouldn’t recommend, by the way.”
Shane let out a huff of breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. “I really didn’t mean to go off like that, I’ll cut back to just the weekends. I promise.”
Robin and Bob shared a glance.
“That’s strike one, Astraeus,” Bob said, “I don’t take slackers lightly. You want me to continue to work for you guys, you’ve got to step it up.”
Shane nodded empathically. “Can we have a day off a week though? It doesn’t have to be on the weekend, but this seven days a week is really hard.”
Robin blinked at him a moment. “You guys have been coming every day?”
The band looked around at each and all gave a collective shrug.
She turned to Bob. “Is that your schedule?”
Bob’s jaw dropped and he shook his head. “I only do that if there’s a rush to get the album out, which I understood there wasn’t. I don’t how we got on working every day, but Astraeus is correct they need a day off.”
“What works best for everyone?”
The band worked out a better schedule that worked for everyone with it ending with Bob giving everyone the rest of the week off, giving them strict instructions to talk to him about those sort of things before it got to this point.
Robin clapped her hands once. “Right, now that we’ve got that settled, we’re still meeting up at Abbadon’s for dinner to discuss my meeting with Nancy. My meeting is at three and dinner is at six, so don’t be late.” She glared at Shane and he raised his hands in surrender.
“See you all then!”
****
Robin straightened her wig in her rearview mirror and added more lipstick. She wore special contacts that changed her bright blue eyes to a more common brown color. She was dressed in slim fitting white slacks with a bright pink silk blouse and a black leather aviator’s jacket. She hated wearing these clothes, they just weren’t her. At least she didn’t have to wear high heels to this thing. She would have broken an ankle for sure.
But she would sell her soul to the devil if it meant that Steve got to do what he loved. And it wasn’t as though she didn’t love her job either. But Eddie was right, she was on her last frayed nerve and that wouldn’t do her boys any good.
She slid out of her Maserati MC20 and walked up to the restaurant. The Corroded Coffin’s manager, Chrissy Cunningham was going to be there as a mediator.
Robin hadn’t told Steve this, but Chrissy knew who she was. Not the band, she didn’t know that, but she knew that Celeste Baptiste was Robin Buckley. It was just something Robin felt she needed to know before going in there with Nancy. That she personally had a stake in the game, even if it was just as Steve’s best friend.
Chrissy loved the idea of even their manager having an alter ego and it made Robin feel better about her choice to be someone else.
Robin and Chrissy kissed each other’s cheeks in greeting and Robin sat down.
“She’s not here yet?” she asked, looking at her matching watch.
Chrissy shook her head. “She’s running a little behind. One of her clients blew up the internet last night and she’s been having to play hard ball to keep it from destroying their career.”
Robin leaned in close. “Ooh, do you know who it was?”
“That’s for me to know,” Nancy said from above them, “and for you to never find out.”
Robin looked up at her and was struck on how good she looked. It was almost unfair how good she looked.
She was wearing a grey plaid blazer with the sleeves rolled up over a white button shirt and a black pencil skirt. She wore grey boots and matching sunglasses, glasses she took off with a shake of her dark curls.
Robin gulped. Nancy had been intimidating enough in high school, but now she could stare down a raging bull and come away unscathed.
“Hello, ladies,” Nancy said with a smile. “I’m sorry I was late, but I think I managed a god damn miracle and could eat an entire salad bar.”
Nancy sat down and put her phone in her purse.
“Oh are you vegan?” Chrissy asked as the waiter came up with a pitcher of water. Nancy waved him off and ordered a rosé.
“Just vegetarian,” she said with a shake of her head. “I love cheese too much. Plus, I knew a militant vegan and they scare me.”
Robin laughed. “Couldn’t be me, I went full vegan last year and haven’t looked back.”
Nancy and Chrissy both winced, but for different reasons, Nancy for her comment about militant vegans and Chrissy, well...
“I picked this place because it has the best rib eye steak on the planet,” she said with a grimace. “That’s not going to bother either of you if I order that, right?”
Nancy and Robin shared a glance and then shook their heads.
“My best friend loves steak,” Robin said, “It’s his choice to eat it, I just a have a problem with the ethical consumption of meat and other animal products.”
“Most of my clients eat meat,” Nancy agreed. “I’m not about to piss them off because I don’t like the taste.”
Chrissy relaxed and let out a long sigh. “Great!”
She picked up her menu to hide her embarrassment. A few minutes later, their waiter came back and they placed their orders.
Nancy had ordered a pasta with roasted sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms and Robin ordered a simple salad with a vinaigrette.
As they waited for their food, Nancy got down to business. “So as I understand it, the band The Fallen is looking for an agent to help with the legal and PR aspect of their brand, correct?”
Robin nodded, twisting her napkin nervously. Normally as Celeste, she was cooler under pressure but Nancy scared her. Not because of anything she could do to her specifically, but because what she could do to her boys.
Chrissy reached out and laid her hand over Robin’s fidgeting ones. Robin let out a shuddered breath.
“Normally bands like theirs have teams and teams of people doing all the work,” Robin said, “but with the secrecy surrounding their identities the more people that know the easier it is for a leak.”
Nancy nodded. “It’s certainly not the usual thing. But I’ve got a few clients that are strict about their identities and it wouldn’t be a problem, but as I told Chrissy, I would have know everything about them so that I can do my upmost to protect them.”
“Did you sign the NDA?” Robin asked, straightening her spine. This was something she was good at. Protecting her boys and she would do it with the fierceness of a mother bear and her cubs.
Nancy picked up her briefcase and opened it up. She took out a folder and handed it to Robin. Robin looked it over and then nodded.
She stuck it in her purse and pulled out a hard portfolio and slid it across to Nancy. Chrissy squeezed her hand as Nancy read through the documents. Their food arrived in the interim and she set it aside. She steepled her hands and planted her elbows on the table.
“How much of this do you know?” she asked Chrissy.
“Only what I needed to which is who Celeste is,” she replied, “and that both her and Abbadon have a history with you that could be trouble for a lot of people, not just the band.”
Nancy nodded and took a bite of her food before saying anything else. Chrissy and Robin exchanged glances but started eating as well. More for something to do in the intervening silence than because they were actually interested in food at that moment.
After a few moments Nancy blotted her lips with her napkin and set it next to her plate. “This is not what I was expecting when I heard that you had concerns about my professionalism and in all honesty, this is easier to understand then a manager thinking they don’t need the help of an agent when they really do.”
Chrissy and Robin shared a glance.
“Is that something that’s common?” Chrissy asked. Corroded Coffin had already had Nancy as their agent when she became their manager five years ago. They had outgrown their former manager Murray Bauman and was looking for someone younger to manage them so they hired her.
Nancy nodded. “It is.” She turned to Robin. “You’re his best friend, right? The quirky band chick who was always working with him?”
Robin was impressed with her way of asking the question without revealing anything significant about their identity. She brought her finger up to her contact and moved it aside to show the blue underneath before sliding it back into place.
“I’m assuming I’m the last resort?” Nancy asked after taking another bite of food.
Robin and Chrissy shared another glance.
“Not in the way you mean,” Chrissy explained. “I gave her a list of agents that might be able to have them on as clients and we’ve met with a couple of them but decided even before they got to what’s in the folder that they weren’t suitable for their needs.”
“The double lives aspect, I suspect.”
“Both of them wanted to push them into revealing themselves,” Robin said, nodding. “Which was completely off the table.”
Nancy licked her bottom lip and her eyes narrowed. “Is that off the table indefinitely or will we circle back to that sometime in the future?”
Robin rolled her eyes. “There’s no way to predict if they’re going to change their mind five-six years down the line.”
“I’m going to be frank,” she said, “I do not have a problem repping them. Not even Abbadon. But I understand there will be some awkwardness on both sides at first. I will even apologize in person. Because the fact of the matter is, I did hurt him. I strung him along until something better came along and then didn’t even have the decency to break up with him before moving on. I was young and stupid and even worse, I’m not even with that guy anymore. Like with me and Abbadon, we wanted different things.”
“Apologize first,” Chrissy said with a wicked gleam in her eye, “then we’ll see about hiring you for The Fallen.”
Nancy reached out to shake Robin’s hand. “Deal?”
Robin nodded curtly. “Deal.”
They moved onto the more tedious aspects of what they wanted out of Nancy as they finished their meals.
But as Robin was heading back to her car she had a small satisfied smile on her face. Yes, this really was the best option for the band.
****
Because of canon-Chrissy's unhealthy relationship with food, I wanted her to go hard into eating all things that her mom most likely forbade her from eating growing up. Hence the steak and the wine. Nancy I figured would be at least vegetarian with personality (just the vibes I get from her *shrug*) and Robin would absolutely be vegan. Just not a militant one.
Tag List: 10 slots remaining
Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25
1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog
2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence
3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006
4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten
5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt
@useless-nb-bisexual
6- @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95
7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars
8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec
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get-caitjinxed · 3 months ago
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Ik caitjinx is all angst but do you have any fic recs for like comfort maybe hurt comfort?
this is a tough one bc i feel like everything i've read is pretty deeply angsty lmao BUT hurt/comfort is definitely also a crucial part of the caitjinx equation
my personal favorites atm (some of these are definitely pretty popular):
'A proper drink' by @heroinejinx - modern au where caitlyn gets involved with jinx after divorcing vi. it's got a lot of heavy themes but i am obsessed with this portrayal of jinx (and viktor, as a fun bonus, i like him a lot in this)
the lover of my impossible soul by @goldfyshie927 - another absolute gut punch of a fic. modern au where caitlyn is an escort and jinx is a socialite who winds up hiring her
what's it like in your shoes? also by @goldfyshie927 - this was one of the first caitjinx fics i ever read and it remains one of my all time favorites. (lowkey inspired me to start working on my shimmer!caitlyn au)
Blue on Blue by bepopice (not sure if they have a tumblr) - i feel like this doesn't quite fit the bill but i do love this fic and i think it has some nice moments, but it's more on the side of jinx drawing out a darker side of caitlyn
i am still working my way through the annals of the caitjinx tag on ao3 so i may come back to this if i find anything else to recommend!
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zylphiacrowley · 3 months ago
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Hello everyone! I got bit by the nostalgia bug from doing and seeing everyone's 2024 GPOSE Wrapped sets so I decided I wanted to throw all my own shots into a ring and make them fight for a spot in a top 10 round-up for my personal favorite shots I've taken all year. So without further ado I present to you:
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Honestly any one of the four Pride themed shots could've gone on this list since I still like all of them but Lyra doesn't show up anywhere else on this list (sorry sweet bean bun) so she can be my rep for this set. This whole set was just so much fun to do!
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This shot I got by pure chance since I have idle cam on and it just happened to focus on my ErenviIIe retainer standing in my yard at the perfect time of day to capture this moment. I liked it so much I had to hop into gpose and get a proper shot of it. I used this one as my desktop background for a good while.
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I can't believe I made an alt to go to an Eternal Bonding and ended up falling in love with them and creating an entire backstory and lore for them yes I can. While this one didn't turn out exactly as I had imagined it in my mind, I'm still pretty happy with it.
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This shot is one of my earlier ones from this year. It's also one of my simpler shots. It ends up being this high on the list despite it being less impressive than some of the ones it beat out because it's probably the shot that really kicked off my love for gposing. This is also the shot that I felt was the point-of-no-return in my own mind for them as a couple.
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This was another one of those test shots that I do pretty often. I had a concept in mind going into it that I still intend to use in a future set, but this was almost just a happy accident as I meant to get a different shot at the time but I can't help staring at him face sometimes...
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From ErenWoL week. I ended up really liking the mood of this shot, but also I liked that I got to include both Lumi (X'vahl's chocobo) and Flag snoozing soundly beside the fire with them as well.
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This is @ambalambs boy Miko! I really just absolutely adore him and I had this idea kicking around my brain for a while before I finally asked if I could pose the shots from this set. I am so happy with how they turned out and I'm glad that Lambs trusted me with her boy! ♥
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The Combat Couple AU. I like ErenviIIe best as a non-combatant, but sometimes it's fun to think of what-if situations. For instance, "What if we kissed in the shared tankbuster?" (つω⊂* )
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I am still just so happy with how this turned out! I love how the colors turned out (even if this shot doesn't have the rainbow that I waited almost an hour to come back in it OTL) Posing all the pixies whisking Feyrn away, maybe to a happier storyline. (╥ ᴗ ╥)
So what could possibly beat out this shot? (╭ರ_•́)
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This is my absolute favorite shot from this whole year! I love the lighting, I love the pose, I love the way they're making eye contact, I love that I finally got the hat thing to work! I'm actually still using it as my desktop background. It'll be a challenge to get a better shot in 2025, but I'm excited to see if I can!
This was the first year that I really put myself out there and delved into gposing so I'm overall pretty happy with what I've done in my first year of doing it. But since this is my first year really getting into the gposing side of the community, it's also allowed me to make friends with lots of really incredible gposers out there who are doing some crazy impressive stuff and seeing their work always serves as an inspiration to me to keep learning and doing better myself.
I'm not going to make this into a tag game, but if anyone else feels like doing a personal countdown of your own work feel free to tag me in it. I'd love to see them!
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insomniamamma · 7 days ago
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By Starlight Alone: Ezra x F!Reader
Warnings: Lots of kissing, trespassing? Alcohol consumption. Implied smut. Ezra running his mouth. Like seriously, that guy could read the ingredient list on a cereal box and I would drop to my knees. Reader mentions early adulthood insecurities. No age gap. Reader is the same age as Ezra.
A/N: This was a funny one for me. If you've been looking at my blog you know I've been Going Through Some Shit. I found this story in my WIP folder with about the first third written. I had no memory of writing it. I'm going to look at it as a gift from the universe. In my mind this is the same reader as the Liminal AU but this can stand on its own.
“We suffer, I think, from a lack of stars.” “A lack of stars.” First time you’ve been able to enjoy the fire pit in months, the ground bone dry for so long, and now the air smells of rain and wet earth and worms and the smoke of the low embers. Cee ate her weight in s’mores and hotdogs toasted on sticks, and then retreated to her room to game. You look at Ezra, laid back as far as his battered lawn chair will allow, expect a smirk, but his face is grim. “You’re serious.”
"When’s the last time you saw a proper sky of stars? When’s the last time you saw the Milky Way?” You frown. “I don’t know really. Probably not since I still lived at home. I used to go and stand in the driveway and smoke when I couldn’t sleep. You remember the comet?” “The one that hit Jupiter?” “No the other one. I was home for Easter Break. It had two tails—“ “That was Hale-Bopp! Me and Damon dragged a couple of lawn chairs and sleeping bags into Ma’s back field. Damon filched some cigarettes and a bottle of some gruesome fruit wine. Wild Irish Rose if I recall correctly.” “Oooogh,” You shudder, recalling your own experiences with Wild I, namely being hauled back into your dorm room by well meaning friends, waking the next day with puke crusted in your hair. Ezra chuckles. “Me and my friends thought it was some kind of omen. My back home friends, not my college friends.”
Not sure why that distinction popped out of your mouth, brings back the judgement flickering in their eyes, the sense that they were all smarter than you despite your grades. Not smarter, but maybe better? More worldly at the very least. That small town dumb hick shame clings even now, decades from there, people closest to you then now facebook profiles that haven’t updated in years.
“You okay, honey?” You turn and Ezra’s eyes are fixed on yours, low cherry red glow of dying coals, ugly sodium street light shining them. “Yeah. Just thinking about back then. It’s funny, you know? We could’ve been watching that comet at the exact same time, couldn’t we?” Ezra stands suddenly, rusty lawn chair creaks in protest, squeal of metal and soft slither of wet grass and he hoses the coals, steam hissing and billowing up into the black. “Ez?” “Let’s go for a ride. Let’s go see some stars.” “What about Cee?” “What about her? She’s so embroiled in, what’s it? Baldur’s Gate? She likely won’t even notice we’re gone. She’s nearly grown. She’s not gonna burn the house down. How bout it, Sunny-girl? Take a ride with me.”
Drive a little ways out of the city in Ezra’s rattlebox truck, warbling AM station tinny through the speakers, I fall to pieces, Ezra’s rough voice threaded through with Patsy Cline’s, each time someone speaks your name, soft slither of slide guitars, soft glow of the dashboard lights ghosting him against the dark outside. You frown. “I thought there’d be more fireflies this time of year,” you say, thinking of late Sunday nights in the back seat, watching the fields light with green fairy fire, background noise of grown up conversation, your folks just talking about the week to come without any care for the green stars stuttering in the grass, so many, driving so fast that the light pulled into elongate streaks like hyperspace in Star Wars. “Haven’t been as many lately,” says Ezra, “Not like it used to be growin up.”
He steers you down a narrow gravel road that opens up onto a wide field, pulls off into a bit of mowed berm bordered by row on row of corn, blade-like leaves stretching skyward, smell of ripening, a bit like the smell of come. Signs posted every few feet with the brand and variety. Ezra kills the engine and hops out. You hook the sweaty sixer from the foot well and follow him, climb up in the truck bed beside him. Pop a beer and hand it to him, clink your bottles together and drink. “Close you eyes,” “Why?” Ezra smirks, that slow smile that you sometimes want to slap but more often want to kiss off his face. “If we’re gonna really see the stars, we’ve got to get our night eyes on. Close ‘em. I’ll set a timer. Three minutes should do.” “Hmmm, you’re just going to get up to shenanigans while my eyes are closed.” “Oi! I am an honorable man! I am offended that you think I would use your temporary lack of sight to my advantage!” You hear the smile in his words. “I’m counting on it, handsome.”
You are the least surprised person in the world when his lips find yours, tender press and prickle of his mustache, tongue licking languid into your mouth, your Ezra who can always kiss you breathless, that slow way of his that makes you ache for him, a soft cry when he withdraws but then he nuzzles into the column of your throat, grazes his teeth against that one spot that makes you squirm and break into gooseflesh. “You don’t have your eyes closed, you jackass,” “I do not,” he says, nibbles at the join of your neck and shoulder, “My need to make love to your under the stars has eclipsed my desire to see them clearly. You can describe them to me. If you can keep your focus on the night sky, that is.” “You, sir, are a fucking menace.” “I am indeed. Open your eyes and help me with these buttons.”
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stars-and-the-min · 11 months ago
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☆ the wrong way to hard launch (3) | OP81
summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au
pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc
a/n some band dynamics and a mini reunion in toyko
masterlist | last part | part 3 | next part
INSTAGRAM
emptybottlesbar
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liked by cameliazzz and 99,284 others
emptybottlesbar Hey! Our awesome lead guitarist turned 23 today AND it's on the first night in Jakarta 🫨 Be sure to give our boy some love! P.S. we couldn't find old birthday photos without Lina (1: Kas' 23rd birthday, 2: Kas' 17th birthday, 3: Kas' 14th birthday) tagged: emptybottles_official, lukaszhang and selinabui
selinabui i'm sorry i was like his only friend growing up?
28kaslina24 kaslina 🩷❤️🩷❤️
emptybottles_official Beach City International Stadium
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liked by lukaszhang and 299,726 others
emptybottles_official Snaps from Jakarta, you guys were an amazing crowd, we hope you had as much fun as we did 📸 📸 next stop: Tokyo, Japan
cameliazzz kas and aid both need haircuts why did i not notice this ↳ selinabui @ cameliazzz maybe bc ur behind them all the time
TWITTER
lila💚 @kasdanrights · 2h in honour of the next stop of the 'twelve more days' tour being tokyo, here's the best thing to come out of the 'overtime' tour (before it got cancelled):
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↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 2h look at kas serving in that polka-dotted scarf
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↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 2h the greatest discovery was that kas and aid shared rooms the whole tour
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↳ 🕯️manifesting EB3 🕯️@ linabelles · 2h did we ever find out about the sushi train thing? ↳ lina bui x2 grammy winner @urdaisea · 2h lina and cami went to an all-you-can-eat sushi train and almost missed night 2 because they were throwing up backstage ↳ li(n)a @meliabelrose · 1h why is this giving "pam and i feed off each others energy..." "she said that?" energy 😭😭 ↳ abby <3 @devilvows · 1h can't believe this was 4 years ago???
INSTAGRAM
oscarpiastri
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liked by landonorris and 109,182 others
oscarpiastri Still not over this weekend
selinabui see you soon stranger 💖 ↳ pastry81 HUH LINA WDYM SEE YOU SOON???
zhouguanyu24 the last picture 👀
landonorris great to be home, eh?
emptybottlos papaya stuff, papaya stuff, papaya- lina??? ↳ piastri_lina @emptybottlos gagged us all WHERE'S THAT COMMENT THAT SAID OSC DIDN'T CARE FOR HER
logansargeant "I did great at my home race" "the fans were amazing" "also I got to watch my girlfriend's sold-out tour's opening show" ↳ oliviafufu @ logansargeant OPENING SHOW??? HE WENT ON THURSDAY AS WELL?
selinabui Tokyo, Japan
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liked by eb_jonno and 118,972 others
selinabui in the daytime (and early evening)
oscarpiastri Well, that's a completely flattering angle of me, thanks :D ↳ selinabui @ oscarpiastri omg i think so too 🥰
jemma.wren lina as linabell oh she's so cute <3333
2cami4lina serious question here, does he wear anything other than orange? ↳ cameliazzz @2cami4lina from when i've seen him? no
aidan_ebass Who won billiards? ↳ selinabui @aidan_ebass ur kidding right? don't you know how amazing i am? (kas did) ↳ 28kaslina24 @ selinabui kas was there? oooh osc*lina never beating the pr relationship allegations 🤭
oscarpiastri just posted to their story
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TWITTER
pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 17h OSCAR PIASTRI WHAT THE HELL??? ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 17h i need to know what he said pls what did he say for her to react like that ↳ june @linafesting · 17h "mr piastri why are you wilding rn" HAD HER USING PROPER 'YOU'S??? ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 17h "Wdym 😇" he's sick for that now we all want to know what he meant
kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2d if my math is right... we could get lina supporting oscar in suzuka ↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2d last tokyo show: friday, april 5th suzuka gp: friday, april 5th to sunday, april 7th first sk show: friday, april 12th BONUS: osc's birthday is april 6th 🥸
conNUH @chickenbirch · 39m idk what world im living in anymore ↳ conNUH @chickenbirch · 38m lina pls... he's just another pasty white guy i--
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↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 18m oh shit im realising my 'im totes interested' face is lacking ↳ president linami @ linaminami · 16m AHHH??? ↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 1h HELP i didn't realise she was totally blanking out as kas was yapping ↳ june @linafesting · 1h she truly looks like she'd rather be anywhere else ↳ camilina gfs fr @ drummergf · 2h kaslina stans realising the new kaslina content is this 🤡 ↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 1h first pic is the exact same way i look at my brother (sheer 'stfu' energy)
BONUS : the unedited insta dm
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✧・゚: ✧・゚:✧・゚: ✧・゚:✧・゚: ✧・゚:
taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification
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brawlite · 5 months ago
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some horror fic recs for october 👻
i wanted to put together a rec list of my favorite horror fics for the spookiest month. there are a bunch of different flavors of horror in here as well as a number of different fandoms, so hopefully you can find something that tickles your fancy (though ngl i would still rec reading these bad boys even if you don't know the fandoms at all).
i tried to tag tumblrs when/where i could find them, but if i couldn't, the author name links to ao3.
a reminder as always: this is horror—please read all the tags.
thanks for reading and i hope you find something to enjoy!
also, pretty please feel free to reblog and add your favorite horror fic recs.
👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪
the ghost apple tree by @thefearofcod
10k words, rated m song lan/xue yang/xiao xingchen (the untamed/mdzs) summary:
Fixing up a decaying house in the woods is the same as addressing your problems. (sxx is haunted)
brawls' notes: i think about this fic a lot; i'm haunted by it. this is by far one of my favorite horror stories i've ever read—the vibes are off-the-charts and horrific in a very visceral, tense way. made me feel weird (positive). i hope it makes you feel weird too (this is a threat).
convergence by @astrophyllitely
33k words, rated e lan zhan/lan xichen, lan zhan/jiang cheng (the untamed/mdzs) summary:
Lan Wangji regains consciousness in a crashed spaceship on an unfamiliar planet. He is not alone; Lan Xichen is there. He is not alone; Jiang Wanyin is there. But never both at once.
brawls' notes: space horror? check. psychological horror? check. uneasy and tense alien vibes? also check. beautiful push and pull of the narrative, paired with an an intense feeling of claustrophobia. there's a particular moment that had my heart right in my throat. stunning.
mockingbird by MarInk
82k words, rated e stiles stillinski/peter hale (teen wolf) summary:
Stiles works tirelessly to keep the roof over his heads and longs for a proper challenge for his brains. Peter chafes under his sister's authority and nurses big, bloody dreams. One day, the two are connected by a mistaken text message. One never knows who is on the other end of a wrong number. Sometimes it's somebody one will come to cherish and adore. Sometimes it's a ruthless, unapologetic monster. Sometimes it's both.
brawls' notes: sometimes you read something and are just blown away by it, forever altered. that's what this was for me. want a type of monster-au you've never seen before? this is it. also: ostensibly a wrong-number au, but don't be fooled. (i was.)
never meant by nonhicsumus
3k words, rated m alex krycek & dana scully (the x-files) summary:
Sometimes the past isn't worth digging into.
brawls' notes: whump and psychological horror? plus alex krycek?? my favorite. every word of this is perfection—i instantly wanted to read it again for the first time. you can.
fais do-do by @moku-youbi
18k words, rated e will graham/hannibal lecter (hannibal)
summary:
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (this fic does not have a summary, but begins with this quote)
brawls' notes: a different-meeting au packed with everything you need for the perfect horror story: violence, blood, a chase scene, and an unreliable narrator. delightful.
blackbird, fly by @acroamatica
19k words, rated m kylo ren/armitage hux (star wars: tfa)
summary:
One sunny afternoon in the mountains of Washington state, Ben Organa-Solo walked out into the woods. He never came home. Six years later, a journalist specialising in missing-persons cold cases decides to follow his footsteps and see where they might lead.
brawls' notes: a masterpiece of vibes. this reads so much like a spooky mystery novel, but with a creeping, anxious dread. perfect for the season if you want that true autumnal sort of chill. i've carried this fic in my heart for nearly a decade now—it has inspired me in my own writing so much over the years.
grey stars on the rise by @iodhadh
4k words, rated e song lan/xue yang/xiao xingchen (the untamed/mdzs) summary:
Xiao Xingchen comes back. Xiao Xingchen comes back wrong. It takes too long, maybe, for Xue Yang to realize something is wrong with Song Lan too.
brawls' notes: the exact embodiment of: be careful what you wish for. brutal and crushing and so deeply, utterly satisfying. absolute yi-city perfection: the vibes are wretched but strangely romantic (chefs kiss).
half your life you've been hooked on death by @whatever-you-can-give-me
4k words, rated m vash the stampede/nicholas d. wolfwood (trigun) summary:
Wolfwood is cornered in an alleyway. Things get worse before they get better.
brawls' notes: and what's a horror rec list without a little bit of gore? whump and blood and near-death-experiences—oh my. this is brutal and feverish and exactly the right flavor.
black rock mountain by @bokuno-jinsei
24k words, rated e will graham/hannibal lecter (hannibal) summary:
Will is a hitchhiker with questionable hobbies. Hannibal is a man who has questionable motives. When Hannibal drives by Will who just so happens to need a ride, things quickly take a turn from the questionable to the downright depraved.
brawls' notes: you know That Fic that is really the epitome of that pairing for you? yeah, this is it for me. perfect alternate first-meeting fic. lives rent-free in my head.
👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪
and hey, why not be a little self-indulgent: i can't help but rec a few of my own horror fics here, too:
old growth
21k, rated m song lan/xue yang/xiao xingchen (the untamed/mdzs) summary:
There’s something in the woods outside of their hometown. Xue Yang and Song Lan are going to find it.
brawls' notes: i tried something new with the formatting on this one and i think it panned out solidly and was a desperately fun way to tell the story. this is full of spooky, sleepless forest vibes.
what's real or isn't
57k, rated e kylo ren/armitage hux (star wars: tfa) summary:
Hux's new house is not haunted. It isn't.
brawls' notes: i honestly love playing favorites and this is one of mine. this was a load of fun to write—it's chock-full of vibes, personal experiences, local history, and love notes to my favorite horror stories.
acquiesce
16k, rated e original luo binghe/original shen qingqiu (svsss) summary:
After seeing the gentle and loving Shen Qingqiu of the other world, Luo Binghe returns to his own with a hunger that can only be satisfied by one thing—a Shizun of his very own.
brawls' notes: this isn't spooky or haunted, but it is psychological horror—packed with nightmares, flashbacks, dread, and manipulation. enjoy!
👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪👻👁️🎃🔪
and that's it! hope you find something fun to read for this october 🖤
and again—please reblog and add your own horror recs if you are feeling so inclined!
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tubbytarchia · 1 year ago
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In my head I'm constantly rotating around the idea of Ranchers and Pearl... This is largely unfounded but I just. can't help it... I just think they'd make such a cute trio and it's what all of them deserve in DL especially. Further thoughts below but please also have this from Pearl's POV
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I have never been able to stop thinking about how Pearl was the first person to genuinely help the ranchers when they requested it, and the way she only asks for food in exchange because she's hungry, gets some steak thrown at her and she immediately gobbles it up. Then Pearl watching them try their best to get goat horns, doesn't even judge them for their complete incompetence (does snicker to herself a little but that's just cute), offers to try it herself, gets it immediately followed by Jimmy's unbridled joy and Tango's unbridled praise
Then Jimmy went and broke my heart by shooing Pearl away in session 3 like everyone else </3, but then pearl comes back later offering him a horse and this time she only asks for friendship in exchange <3. But then she HAD conversed with Scott before and Scott basically just said "I've emotionally reduced Jimmy into nothing before and you can too". In the end Jimmy gives her the horn that she got for him in the first place </3 Then Pearl and Martyn steal the horse back but Pearl pretty quickly feels remorseful and returns to Jimmy to once again ask for friendship in exchange for the horse. Jimmy refuses but Pearl gives him the horse anyway and RAHH Jimmy being genuinely surprised like, baby... he just doesn't expect much at all from anyone at this point does he lol. And Pearl all "No, that's not me, I felt too bad" and Jimmy still asking for reassurance "You sure? Are you sure?". Then they kind of established a friendship before parting ways when Pearl admitted she no longer had Jimmy's horn (had given it to Martyn already)
So obviously that didn't amount to much, they didn't interact a lot before Tango and Jimmy died but COME ON THEY'D BE SO CUTE... The ranchers who are most everyone's laughing stock and Pearl who has been largely ostracized for not even doing anything wrong, and completely alone. Except she does have Tilly, she loves her dogs and she also ushers a donkey into her tower all "here you go my little lovely", ALSO housing Oreo, the very horse that'd been traded back and forth and that the ranchers had so desperately wanted. Oreo WAS left there by Scar because he had to make a swift escape from the top but... you know. Anyway point is I think her and the ranchers have a little bit in common in that, I could totally imagine Pearl enjoying taking care of the animals. Also don't forget how she was struggling for food in the beginning just like the ranchers. But they managed to make do because they had each other, unlike Pearl. So the ranchers could give her supportive company!! Can you imagine how delightful they'd be towards her... The same way Jimmy would usher Tango into the ranch as he fled from mobs, scared and starving
That's about it but PLEASE. SURELY I'm not the only one who can see this. Ranchers housing Pearl would be the absolute cutest, they don't judge each other etc... Imagine an AU in which she does score a proper allyship with them, finally finding happiness in some human company only for them to die first and Pearl being left all alone again with all the other Lifers who considered her crazy
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iilmunchkiin · 3 months ago
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Hey just to let you know long ask incoming, put on your helmet and duck below the trenches
OKAY. WHOA. YOU WEREN'T KIDDING.
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Had to put it in screenshots cuz it'll flood but oh my god you mad man. I was giggling the entire time reading this, knowing there's people who are still interested in the DD!AU despite having little to no updates hsajdhsajdas 〒▽〒
Sorry it took a while for me to answer this, I've been trying to find a way muster up a proper response so here I go!
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"...did he ever really care about her? All she needs to do is perfect the serum."
Okay, putting my bias aside, yes, he did in fact love Ceroba but that's it, they love each other a lot. He just wanted to pursue his work more. Motherfucker is no less delusional than Starlo, he thinks he can save monsterkind if he can just perfect the serum and take revenge on the humans and it makes me sick knowing he planned to have a big family with Ceroba, have you seen how huge the manor is? He can't even take care of one child and yet he wanted more. That's Chujin Ketsukane in a nutshell, he wanted more, he wanted to pursue more because of how ambitious he is. He's unarguably worse than Starlo, he thinks he can save everyone, built a secret underground basement that he hid from his wife, and passed on his dying wish to said wife when he barely even finds time for her because he prioritizes his work more, he KILLED a CHILD and literally broke the laws of robotics, left said wife to work all by herself to stay afloat, the list goes on you get the point. Bias is back, there's nothing you can do to convince me to like Chujin, I will admit he's a good character but that's all you're going to shake out of me, I don't like him, he seems to be the type to have a superiority complex.
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"Notably, when Kanako collapses, the first question she asks is 'Why did I work on that serum !?', it's 'Why didn't it work !?'."
I'm going to assume you meant Ceroba questioned why the serum didn't work instead of her coming to her senses and why she worked on it in the first place? Her blind adoration for Chujin baffles me when all he's ever done was pursue his career and what he stood for, but what baffles me even more is even Chujin himself said not to use the serum on Kanako and yet SHE STILL DID. She went against her husband's wishes, and still… what… okay I'm genuinely stumped on this part my brain just shut down.
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"if i cannot be wanted, i will be needed and if i cannot be needed, let me be used until there's nothing left of me"
NO BECAUSE THAT'S LITERALLY EVERYONE Dalv - wanting to protect Kanako but failed (also adding he wants to be a teacher) Martlet - wanting to be useful so she joined the royal guard Starlo - wanting to distract everyone from being trapped underground Ceroba - wanting to pursue Chujin's legacy underground and making them happy Clover - their parents
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"And she realizes she was so tunnel visioned that she didn't see Clover for what they really were - a lost child out of their depth, someone with nobody to look out for them."
THIS. THIS THIS THIS THIS POINTING VERY LOUD. CLOVER IS JUST A CHILD!!!!!!!
What bothered me a lot about Clover was they seemed so mature for their age, that was the impression I got from them the entire time playing uty, the way they handled everything just broke my heart, especially with pacifist Starlo's boss fight, they knelt down and surrendered in front of him, from the very beginning Clover was ready to offer their life and that was before even finding out about Ceroba's plan which happens right after that when they go to the Steamworks. They're so nonchalant about everything (imagine my surprise when I saw people drawing them all energetic and cutesy hihi ^^), and the fact that some bits and pieces of their hinted neglect at home just, augh. Just paint a picture with me, your entire life you were emotionally neglected, you're just a mere child who's trying to make it through life, doing the chores all by yourself, eating things you shouldn't, and your damn favorite TV show is just pure static until you decide to go to Mt. Ebott and jump down a hole holding a missing poster to look for the missing children, not knowing you could be next (and you were). To your surprise you see the world of your dreams, there were monsters, but these monsters cared and loved you, there were a few bumps on the road but in the end, they all genuinely cared, even offering you to stay with them, but after you find out about their situation… you offer your soul for their sake. Isn't that so cruel? You finally have a chance to be alive, experience what it's like to be loved, and finally act like a kid only to die on the same day? Such a tragic and twisted fate.
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"It was Clover's choice and it was Kanako's choice too, and Chujin's, and if Ceroba's not careful it'll kill her next."
heh
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greenerteacups · 6 months ago
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Your last chapter was delightful! Thank you so much!
You’ve mentioned All the Young Dudes in one of your posts and it has been a revelation. Do you have all time favorite hp fics and would care to share your recommendations please?
Oh, man, how could I ever choose? Manacled and DMATMOOBIL are obviously all-timers, but they don't need me to recommend them. Wait and Hope, similarly, is in no need of exhortation by me, but I'll do it anyway, I ate that shit up. Anything by @PacificRimbaud. Especially anything with Pansy in it. Especially Les Pèlerins. Anything by provocative_envy. Especially the college/internship AUs. You don't think an American AU for Harry Potter is going to work, until you're reading it, and wow, does it ever. Bending Light by scullymurphy. Talk about fucking atmosphere, my God. (I haven't read Falling Dark yet, I've been meaning to get around to it.) I've also been meaning to read the Gravitation series, I read the first chapter forever ago and it was one helluva opening. See, now I'm just talking about fics I haven't read and want to. Okay.
All the Young Dudes was formative because it was the first time I realized the scope of what fanfiction could do. Until then, I had a very narrow, constrained version of the kinds of stories fanfic was meant to tell (and what fanfic audiences were looking for). ATYD blew the ceiling off that by telling a story that was non-traditional, slow-paced, and completely non-focused on romance for at least half of it, and people adored it anyway. It taught me to be bolder and more creative with my choices. It made me think "well, Gryffindor Draco may not be the most popular trope in the bucket, but maybe some people will like it!" And it turned out some people did!
The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. This was for a long time my favorite Draco redemption arc, and it remains the first fic I recommend to anyone looking to get into Dramione, because it's the perfect branching-off point for someone who loves the books. Stylistically honest and feels like Book 7, only better. Draco is not let off the hook for fuck, as is right and proper. (I'm a sucker for Book 7 rewrites, for obvious reasons.)
Boy with a Scar. All of it. Made me tear up like four times. This person understands things about Harry Potter that Rowling doesn't and perhaps never could.
Birds of a Feather is a great Tomione Hogwarts fic, and of any fic I've read, it's most interested in the practical day-to-day of life at Hogwarts, which was one of my favorite parts of the books. It's really a book about how someone like Tom, or Hermione for that matter, would experience Hogwarts if there weren't any diabolical plots happening around them: that is, as a very cool, very beautiful, but ultimately sort of mundane boarding school. It makes the place feel lived-in and real in a way that makes it a joy to come back to. And it has the most realistic depiction of child!Tom that I've ever read.
And I'm finding new ones all the time.
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bcolfanfic · 11 months ago
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What was the wedding like? I bet Curt was Bucky's best man? Was the bachelor party messy? Meatball was ring bearer??? LOL
#young vets au
first of all s/o to @swifty-fox who came up with a good chunk of these. i've been so focused on poor bucky's mental breakdown that quite honestly a part of the "they get married on paper and say they'll have a wedding...eventually" was me putting off figuring out that lore LOL. but here thee go.
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they start planning it after bucky is out of the hospital and doing better. gale brings it up first- and bucky is so 🥺. obviously gale never asked for a divorce but, he still feels a little insecure about things/how much he put him through. so knowing gale *does* still want to marry him good and proper makes him a lil emotional. sweet boy.
they try to surprise each other with engagement rings and end up clashing with each others surprises bahaha. me thinks gale gets bucky a celtic eternity knot ring. bucky gets gale something like this.
big crowds/travel is still a bit of a rough spot for bucky, so it's in wyoming. in my mind they have a hugeee backyard. so cutesie homey backyard wedding it is.
curt is 1000% bucky's best man. that's his best friend and curt (this hasn't really been explored a great deal yet but it will be) quite frankly did about as much for him during his big ol breakdown spiral as gale did.
hmm idk who gale's is. choose your own adventure, its whoever you want it to be.
wearing their air force dress uniforms comes up briefly but bucky hates it so it’s tabled. gale asks the guys not to wear theirs either.
all the guys come into town, of course they do. they're *so excited* not just because it's their buddies getting married but bc this is the first time all of them except for curt and kenny have seen bucky in person since his attempt. so seeing him so happy and doing better makes them happy.
demarco does indeed bring meatball.
i think since they essentially share all the same friends they have a joint pre-party a few days before. maybe the first night everyone is in town. a reunion party of sorts.
i need to do a hc list explaining all the curt/kenny lore as it exists in my head but this is maybeee the first time everyone is seeing the two of them since they aren't (badly) trying to keep that they're involved on the downlow. which everyone gets a kick out of just as much as they do bucky and gale.
both of them cry during their vows.
and, my favorite thing @swifty-fox and iame up with last night:
i know its hinted at in a few of the phone povs about bucky wanting to get sober but in my mind that's closer to when they have josie. so when they get married there is alcohol abound (lol). and gale, because hey it's his fucking wedding after all- partakes this time.
he sees bucky playing with croz's kids in the yard and gets so emotional because he just loves him so much, wants that with him and now they *can* have that together even after everything they've been though.
curt sees this and is like awww, i see that look buck! and sweet drunk gale just starts blabbering about how he's gonna put babies in him- he's gonna figure it out, JSTOR hasn't failed him yet.
to demarco, who is running around with his camera, this is the best moment of his life.
asks gale to run that by him one more time with the camera in his face.
"i said, you see my husband over there?" gale says seriously into the camera, holding himself up on curt with one arm around his waist and gesturing to where bucky is deep in drunk conversation with kenny "'m gonna figure out how to put babies in him. JSTOR hasn't- hasn't failed me yet. gonna figure that shit out and we're gonna have more kids than- than croz n' jean."
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theyoungeragrippina · 1 year ago
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✨ 15 gentlebeard fic recs ✨
i have spent the last month trawling the pages of ao3 for you, dear reader, to find the best ofmd fics. all the works on this list:
are longer-form (generally 40k+)
have no steddyhands (simply not my thing)
are generally, all around brilliant (well-written, had me kicking my feet and giggling, laughing, or crying)
are complete!
part 2 and part 3
A Heart Unsated by roughwinds
48k, explicit
"Stede Bonnet has just moved into Orange Crescent. There’s a house on the corner, opposite Stede’s own, with a garden full of flowers and a gleaming motorbike on the driveway. He’s forgotten to buy sugar.
Edward Teach has his morning disturbed by his new neighbour. Enamoured at first sight, he invites Stede round for a chat, and then another, and then another.
This is the story of them."
man i normally avoid fics with lots of alma and louis in them because its just not for me, but literally every second of the family bonding in this was so wholesome i was forced to change my entire mind.
all you left me was a pearl by @sightofsea
88k, mature
"1717. The Golden Age of Piracy. Stede Bonnet sets about wooing the love of his life through any means necessary.
Things do not go as planned."
every day i wish for a precise memory erasing potion to be invented so i can read this again for the first time. i would devour like 2000k more words of this if it was offered to me. brilliant.
forgive & forget by @fool-for-luv
44k, mature
"It hits him then, like a wave breaking on sand, loud as thunder when it crashes, then trickling away into little rivulets flowing back home, murmuring one word over and over and over. Ed.
The problem is, Stede doesn’t recall ever having met anyone named Ed."
so sweet and wonderful, and i wish there was more.
#gentlebeard is trending! by regional_catastrophe
41k, teen
"In which Stede accidentally convinces the pirating world that Gentlebeard (or Blackbonnet or Stedward; there's a poll) is canon, reunites his crew, and gets his boyfriend back."
hilarious & silly & great, but also the most compelling notes of any fic i've ever read. a proper learning experience.
if music be the food of love (then darling, you're a feast) by @fool-for-luv
107k, unrated
"“Hey, so, those two, right, they get together in the end?” Ed asks.
“I would protest spoiling it, but I think it's rather obvious, isn't it?” Stede says. His nose wrinkles as he smiles. “The tension is certainly there from the beginning. It just takes them a while to get there.”
“Good. Would have been a shit story otherwise.""
i love sassy stede and i love ed who is a grump and i love that they share one single braincell at any given time.
If You Were Mine to Keep by @mysterybees
162k, explicit
"Caught between the gallows and the end of an English sword, Ed accepts the Act of Grace: marry into the aristocracy, leave the English ships alone, and live to sail another day. But who in their right mind would ever agree to marry the mad devil pirate Blackbeard?"
Worth every second of tiredness I felt after pulling an all nighter to finish reading.
It's Only Right by hexuponye
53k, explicit
"A modern AU based on Imagine Me & You, in which Edward is a florist who does the flowers for Stede's wedding."
mary gets to be a little silly sometimes too as a treat.
pliocene by unfortunatelyobsessed
75k, mature
""man, it's just ocean for miles.” Ed motions out to the waves, where there is no sign of any sort of ship, their small dinghy pulled far up on the sand. “I told you when the clouds look like seagulls you take fuckin' cover. Goddamn ocean mutinied me.”"
william golding wishes he did something this brilliant and significant when he wrote Lord of the Flies. the best deserted island story.
quite a career shift by @stedesparasol
157k, explicit
"Stede's been posting book reviews on Youtube for two months now. It's taken him that long to finally get a comment, and the person it comes from is rather unexpected."
rip stede you would've LOVED booktube. furious i can never really watch his content.
Semaphore by komodobits
124k, explicit
"Talking things through as a crew is easier said than done, and honest communication has never really been Stede’s strong suit. When it comes to Ed, he is willing to try."
so good that i was properly and truly laughing and gasping and 'oh no-ing' out loud while i read it.
Such Joie de Vivre by @louciferish
94k, explicit
"Professional thief Edward Teach is tired of hole in the wall apartments, shitty pub food, and skipping town every few months to keep the cops off their tail. He’s well past the age he meant to flee the country and retire, and all he needs is One Last Job to set him up for life. When he hears that some rich bastard outside of town has just the sort of treasure he’d trade his good knee for, Ed sets out in disguise to get the lay of the land."
i (so so foolishly) avoided reading this for a while because i simply didn't think i was one for nanny aus. i was so, terribly wrong. don't make the same mistakes i did. showstopping. incredible stuff.
The Chains of Flowers are Fragile Things by @grandmastattoo
62k, explicit
"Stede can't see the shop he's inherited from his late father as anything other than a burden, another insult added to a life that's going nowhere fast. Then he meets the charismatic man who owns the tattoo studio next door, and Stede finds himself forced to consider the idea of home."
maybe i love tattoo shop owner ed fics, sue me. i love this stede and i love his embarrassing mistake tattoo.
The Love Experiment by karawrites
65k, mature
a married at first sight (aus) au. i didn't know i needed it until i read it.
Water/line by @the-gentleman-mermaid
60k, teen
"During a raid on a smuggler ship, Ed finds a merman named Stede locked in the hold."
So good that I would actually pay the author real person money to do a similar story but where Ed is the mermaid.
Where the Daylight Begins by @xoxoemynn
116k words, explicit
"Modern day AU slow burn featuring a pining Ed, a clueless Stede, found family, roughly a million animals, and a very magical house."
This one sort of gave me House on the Cerulean Sea vibes; it was so much fun and genuinely necessitates a proper use of the word whimsical.
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jinhyun · 2 years ago
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—daisies.
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pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader
genre: fluff, suggestive, college au, dance major hyunjin, art major reader
word count: 7.8k
summary: sometimes things do not go to plan, hyunjin realised. not even when he had so carefully prepared a date to ask you to be his girlfriend for once and for all.
warnings: mentions of sex, mentions of condoms lol, MINORS DNI!!!!
a/n: you know what, i've decided to embrace the word count and i'm not even apologising this time bc we all saw it coming :') also!! i couldn't come up with any proper title for this so i just went with this basic one (if you get it, you get it). i hope you guys enjoyyy, please let me know your thoughts on this, your comments and reblogs make me the happiest<3
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You enjoyed your 10 A.M. class on Fridays, you really did.
You enjoyed listening to your professor and taking notes of everything he explained. You enjoyed learning a little bit more about art with each class, and you certainly enjoyed getting to put it all to practice.
Today, however, you could not seem to be able to pay attention — neither to your professor, nor to the hardly touched canvas in front of you.
And how could you? The man you were in love with had just told you last night to pack an overnight bag and wait for him after class.
Not only that, but the conversation that had preceded his sudden outburst had left you restless, too — in the best of ways, of course. You could only anticipate what was to come during the little date he had planned. An entire day of only you and him, in whatever place it was he was taking you to.
An entire night, too, of only you and him. That you were also looking forward to.
A whole day and a whole night… He was definitely dropping the question at some point, right? He wouldn't be going through all this trouble not to ask you to be his girlfriend by the end of the day, would he?
Almost like he was reading your thoughts, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. You didn't need to take it out to know it was Hyunjin letting you know he had arrived at your building and was already waiting for you, but you did anyway — smiling wholeheartedly at his addition of the pet name 'baby' at the end of his text.
The whole ten minutes left of the class were hell after that.
In between small strokes of colour on your canvas and looking at the clock every twenty seconds, you managed to make it through. And as soon as your professor said the class was over, you picked up your bag and flew outside of the studio.
Hyunjin must've noticed the class was done as well, for he was waiting right in front of the door, wearing a smile that only grew wider the moment his eyes met yours.
"Hey, cutie…" he greeted you softly, reaching an arm out for you to hold.
"Hey…" you smiled shyly, letting him pull you to him and press a brief kiss to your lips. "You've been calling me that a lot lately".
"Well, you did say calling you that would take me places" he smirked, getting a roll of eyes from you.
"You don't even know what places I was talking about" you bit back.
He chuckled, leaning in to brush his mouth against yours. "Hm… I think I'll take the risk".
Laughing under your breath as his lips pressed on yours once more, you rested your hands on his chest. "If anything, you're the one who should be taking me places now".
That got a throaty laugh from him. "I am," he confirmed, sliding your bag down your shoulder and hanging it on his instead. "Shall we go?"
Biting your lip to try and conceive the smile that was threatening to show at both the sight of his hand waiting to be held by yours and how cute he looked wearing the pastel pink bag you had brought that day, you nodded, no longer fighting your smile when you held his hand and his smiley lips pressed softly to your cheek.
"Where are you taking me?" you asked as you made your way out of the building.
"First, we're getting lunch".
"You know what I mean," you squinted your eyes. "What are we doing after lunch?"
"You'll see" he smirked.
"Babyyy~" you pouted, earning an amused roll of eyes from him.
"Not gonna work".
"Please?"
"It's a surprise".
"Can we go now then? We can get something to eat later".
"Aish, so impatient" he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing in feigned annoyance.
"Jinnie…" you pouted once more.
"We can't skip lunch" he denied. "I'm not having you starve during the train ride".
"Train ride?!" your eyes sparkled and a proud smile curved up his lips. "Where are we travelling to?"
Throwing an arm over your shoulders, he pulled you to him and pressed a kiss to your temple — one that any other time would've been sweet, yet this time around seemed more taunting than anything. "That's as much as I'm saying".
-—-—-—-—-—-—-♡
You were not even halfway into the day and it already felt like a dream.
Sitting by the window of a train, head resting on Hyunjin's shoulder while you looked at the passing scenery outside and listened to one of his playlists as you shared his earphones… everything about it truly felt like one of the many daydreams you used to have with him back when everything was one-sided.
And it could only feel even more surreal when you recognised the landscape outside; one you had not visited in over a year now — the last time being for the birthday party Innie's parents had prepared for him.
Busan.
For some reason still unknown to you, Hyunjin had taken you to Busan.
You found yourself having to ask him if he was serious when you first heard the destination at the train station, not believing your ears when you heard the name of the city through the speakers. And a part of you did still not believe he was taking you there until you saw it with your own two eyes.
You enjoyed the ride from the station to the place Hyunjin had booked for the two of you to spend the night, which turned out to be a very nice modern building that was a few minutes away from the beach. You took a mental note to visit it later that day or at least before leaving the next one, as going to the beach with him had just become a fundamental point of your couples to-do list with him.
The hotel room was bigger than you expected, yet not enough to take that coziness you craved so much away. The open curtains and beige walls brought just the right amount of brightness into the room, and it went well with the white sheets of the king bed in the middle.
The king bed.
You couldn't help the heat in your cheeks at the sight of it. You had been hoping there would be only one bed; you had actually supposed so at first, for you had slept together a few times by now. But actually being met with one bed only, regardless of it might being obvious, had sent a rush of heat through your body.
Watching as Hyunjin placed your bags on the small couch by the window, you decided to take off your shoes and lie down on the mattress for a bit. For some reason, the train ride had left you exhausted.
Hyunjin's lips curved up into an adoring smile the moment he turned around and saw you laying down on your back — arms stretching out above your head as if you had just woken up from a deep slumber, and managing to drag your black top up enough for half your abdomen to be uncovered.
"Don't tell me you're tired now" he teased, crawling right next to you.
"And what if I am?" you dared.
He smiled, resting his hand on your bare waist and drawing small circles on your skin. Goosebumps were fast to show under his touch. "It's not even dark outside yet".
"So what, I'm tired and this bed's too comfy" you snuggled up closer to him, receiving a tender kiss to your forehead.
"It is very comfy, I'll give you that".
"Can't believe you booked a hotel room for us" you smiled incredulously.
Hyunjin smiled as well, shrugging lightly before he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to his chest. "I figured we could stay the night and that way enjoy the city all day today and some more tomorrow".
"I love that…"
"I was hoping you would…" he mumbled, resting his chin on your head. "Besides, getting to sleep with you is a nice plus to it".
Your cheeks heated up. "We've slept together back in Seoul, though".
"Yes, but not like this".
"Like what?"
He didn't need to say anything back. The single look he gave you when your eyes went up to meet his was enough to let you know what was so different this time. And you wanted it to be like that.
You had been taking it slow for a while now, and you'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't miss his naked body against yours and the entire different level of intimacy that came with it.
Hyunjin missed it like crazy, too, and he couldn't help but show you with a kiss. After all, he had only been holding back all this time because you wanted to take things slow and he was willing to do that for you.
If it were up to him, though, you'd have spent endless nights tangled up in bed by now.
Your hands went to his nape in a second, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Your heavy breathing mixed with his hot one, pressing your mouth to his once more and feeling a shiver run down your spine when his hand moved from your waist to your ass.
That's all you needed to push him down on the mattress and crawl on his lap. The low moan that slipped past his lips was music to your ears, and his hands squeezing your ass before he pushed you down on his crotch was enough to get a muffled moan from you in return.
Your hands travelled down from his chest to his waistline, where you reached his pants.
"No, no… wait…" his breathy plea against your mouth stopped you from pulling the zip down, looking at him in confusion instead. "I didn't bring you here to have sex".
The look on your face must've been accusing as hell, for he couldn't hold back a laugh.
"I'm serious!" he said in between a giggle, hands unconsciously digging under your top and resting right above the curve of your waist.
"Your hands tell me otherwise" you teased.
Hyunjin bit his lip, contemplating for a moment before he stole a chaste kiss from your lips and removed his hands from under your top, bringing them up to your shoulders instead.
"I'm supposed to take you somewhere else today," he confessed. "Right now, actually. We're already running a bit late if we wanna see the whole thing".
You cocked an eyebrow, suddenly interested. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise" he smiled, giggling once again when you squinted your eyes daringly. "Last surprise of the day, I promise".
"But I wanna stay here…" you pouted.
Leaning in to press your lips to his in a lingering kiss, you felt him sigh against your mouth — already regretting having to take you somewhere else and considering just staying here in bed with you for the remaining of the trip.
"Don't do this to me…" he whined, hands travelling down again and fingertips pressing hard against the flesh of your hips as he lost the battle against himself and leaned in to steal another kiss from you. "If we're staying in bed all day we could've just stayed in Seoul".
You pouted. "But I want you".
"Couldn't you want me this bad back home?"
"I did want you this bad," you confessed, lips lightly brushing his. "I just have a lot of self-control".
Hyunjin chuckled, nuzzling the crook of your neck before pressing a soft kiss to it. "You're gonna have to keep that self-control up for a little longer then".
"Hyunjin…"
"Ugh, don't say my name like that when you're on top of me" he pleaded.
"That is your name, though" you laughed.
"Mhm… play innocent all you want, baby" his grip on your hips tightened playfully. "You're gonna love the place I'm taking you to much more".
"More than staying in bed with you for what's left of the day?"
A heavy whine escaped his mouth this time, one that was followed by a feigned cry as he threw his head back in exasperation — clearly having failed at trying to convince himself of it.
You laughed loudly at the very troubled sight of him, but it didn't last long, for he was fast to turn you around so now your back was pressed against the mattress and he was on top of you.
"Don't play with me, baby…" he whispered, and this time you couldn't tell whether it was a plea or more of a threat. "I promise you we'll have all night to ourselves".
"All night?" you pushed it.
He smiled, leaning in to kiss you gently. "All night".
"Okay then…" you sighed, gently running your hands down his biceps. "Since you promised".
"Trust me, there's nothing I'd want more than to stay here with you right now" he kissed you again. "But there's a reason I brought you all the way here, so…" he sat up, holding a hand out for you to hold. "Let's go?"
-—-—-—-—-—-—-♡
It only hit you how perfectly Hyunjin had planned everything out when you finally arrived at your destination.
The hotel you were staying at was hardly ten minutes away by foot, and you had surely enjoyed the hand-in-hand walk over there. You could honestly enjoy anything as long as you were with him, and you were definitely having the time of your life looking around the city to realise the place Hyunjin had stopped in front of.
Bon Davinci Museum.
More particularly, the Van Gogh Village Exhibition. The same one you had missed last year back in Seoul and had no idea was now back for a while in a different city.
The look you gave Hyunjin at the realisation was one of pure adoration, and you wondered how expressive you actually were, given you could clearly see the effect your eyes had on him — bringing a bright pink to his cheeks and that cute dimple of his was not something you achieved on a daily basis.
He cleared his throat, trying to control his shy smile at that. "Let's go".
Too stunned to speak, you let him guide you to the line of people who already had their tickets. He had truly left no details behind, and your heart could only soar over how much effort he had put into this.
"I can't believe we're here," you squealed, quietly enough not to bring people's attention to you — that didn't stop Hyunjin's attention and heart eyes from focusing on your beaming face. "God, Innie's gonna be so jealous when he finds out".
Hyunjin chuckled. "Now I feel bad because he gave me his ticket for Nam June Paik's expo and I didn't invite him here".
"He couldn't go to his expo, the ticket would've gone to waste anyway" you squeezed his hand, walking forward as the line in front got shorter. "And let's be honest, he would've third wheeled so hard if he came here with us".
"I'm telling him you'd make him third wheel with us" he smirked.
"Do that and I'm making you third wheel when I'm with him".
"I would like to see you try" he gave you a cynical smile.
Mirroring his attitude, you stuck your tongue out to him before he loosely placed his arm around your shoulders. You lightly rested your head on his shoulder.
"I need to record the Almond Blossom room for him, that's what he wanted to see the most" you nodded to yourself, then looking up at Hyunjin with hopeful eyes. "You think they have the Vase with Daisies and Poppies?"
"I knew you would look for it first thing" he shook his head in amusement.
"Do they?" you perked up.
He shrugged, not even trying to hide his will to tease you. "I guess we'll find out".
"You so know the answer and don't wanna tell me".
"Aren't you the one who wanted to visit so badly in Seoul? Shouldn't you know that, baby?"
Your jaw fell in offense, and you wasted no time in pulling away from his hold. "I hate you".
Hyunjin chuckled, pulling you into his embrace once more and then pressing his lips to your temple. "I know you don't".
Rolling your eyes as you silently rejoiced in his touch, you didn't pry away from it — instead, you wrapped your arm around his waist right as you reached the girl who would scan your tickets.
From the moment you step a foot inside, it was everything you had hoped for.
You remembered how bad you and Innie wanted to go last year when it was in Seoul for a couple of weeks, but it just so conveniently happened to be during finals season, and so you both had to give up enjoying this anticipated art exhibition over your art courses, as ironic as it sounded.
Hyunjin had found out about it one evening when he was lying down on your bed while you worked on a paper — Van Gogh being brought up as you mindlessly chatted and then you casually mentioned your and Jeongin's tragic story.
It had been just that. A light conversation while your attention was mostly focused on your research and Hyunjin's eyes remained focused on his phone, as he had only come over to keep you company. You had mentioned it and moved on. Just that.
You didn't expect him to remember, and you most certainly weren't expecting him to go out of his way to take you to a completely different city so you could finally see the exposition you had missed a year ago.
If he only paid attention, he would see in your eyes just how much harder you had fallen for him right then.
He was too excited making sure you'd admire every masterpiece that was portrayed on the multi-screens, however — far from looking into the way you would stare at him and instead getting lost in the way your smile would take over your face and your eyes would sparkle with every piece you reached.
He was personally most excited about the Starry Night, but when you finally reached the room it was in and you were suddenly covered under the blue and yellow lights, he couldn't help but admire you instead.
Funnily enough, you were doing just the same with him. The difference being you couldn't contain yourself and ended up taking your phone out of your pocket and snapping a picture of him. A picture that turned into five more as you asked him to pose for you and he complied, and which then turned into some more when he took out his phone and had you as his personal model for a while — later pulling you to him and snatching a few selfies together that would make it to his favourites folder.
It made him almost wish you could stay in that moment forever, but there was one last piece you were the most excited about and he was taking you there.
Your face the moment you saw the one painting you had asked about earlier was all Hyunjin needed to know bringing you here was worth it.
"Jinnie, oh my God, they do have it!"
You heard his quite loud yet shy giggle as you rushed towards the huge projection of the Vase with Daisies and Poppies.
Being quite lost in the sight of it, you missed his presence coming up closer to you — jolting up for a moment there when his arms sneaked around your waist from behind, before your body relaxed under his familiar touch.
"I knew they had it" he admitted the obvious, just as his chin rested on your shoulder.
"I knew you knew whether they had it" you side eyed him.
He laughed under his breath, pressing his lips briefly to your cheek. "I just wanted to leave the best for the last" his thumb ran up and down your sides. "Although in my opinion the best was the Starry Night".
"That's because you're basic".
He gasped, tightening his hold on your waist as he leaned back and pulled you slightly away. "You did not just call me basic, daisy girl".
"No, don't bring daisies into this" you warned him.
"They're like the most basic flower out there".
Once again, you were the one to act offended. "You know, you just lost all the points you had gained by calling me 'cutie'".
"Come on now, that's not fair".
"It is plenty fair".
"What about all the points I won by taking you here?"
"Oh yeah, those are gone, too".
"All because I called daisies basic?"
"You deliberately attacked my fixation on them, so…"
He pouted once more, and you could not help but smile sweetly and trace his bottom lip with your thumb.
"You do get some points back for being cute, though".
"Oh, that definitely makes me feel better" he snorted.
You laughed under your breath, lightly pecking his mouth before your eyes locked with his. "Thank you…"
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What for?"
"For this?" you pointed out the obvious, motioning around the room. "I know I already said that I can't believe you brought me to Busan and all that, but this… I mean, I wanted to see this so badly and I didn't even know it was in Busan right now? How did you…"
Hyunjin shrugged, naturally resting his hands on your waist. "I knew you couldn't go last year when it was in Seoul, and I… to be honest I didn't know it was in Busan either, I just started to look for places to take you out on a date and this popped up and it was just perfect".
"You could've just taken me to any art museum back in Seoul and I would've been just as happy, you know?"
"In between taking you somewhere we can go to any other day and taking you to an exposition that will only be here for a couple of weeks… and which you really wanted to see to begin with… I think I know which one would make you happier".
You laughed lightly, wholeheartedly, cupping his face in your hands and tenderly running your thumbs over the corners of his mouth as your eyes went up to meet his. "I love you".
You felt his breath get caught in his throat, and although he opened his mouth to say something in return —or at least try to, as you could see already his voice would betray him—, you didn't need to hear it nor see him struggle. So, you kissed him.
He kissed you back immediately, tenderly as ever — his warm hand cupping your cheek and deepening the kiss before you could pull away.
"You don't have to say it back" you smiled truthfully. "I've just been really struggling lately not to say it every five minutes and needed to let it out".
"Y/N… I, I'm…"
"It's okay, baby, really" you reassured him, reaching for his hand and eagerly tugging at it. "Now let's go! The beach is close, if we rush we can watch the sunset!"
-—-—-—-—-—-—-♡
I love you. I love you. I love you.
That's what you had said, so effortlessly.
I love you. It's what he wanted to say right back the second those three words had abandoned your mouth, but he froze.
He froze.
Love had always come easy to you. You loved selflessly, effortlessly, shamelessly, fully, and expected to be loved the same. He, on the other hand, had always been an outcast to love and romance as a whole.
In his mind, he had told you he loved you plenty of times. When it came to finally, actually saying it outloud, however, his breath had got caught up in his throat and he could physically not let the words out of his mouth.
To say he was upset was an understatement.
You didn't seem to be upset or slightly hurt at his lack of response. Were you that used to his distance from love? Had you really been expecting him not to say he loved you back? Or were you just one hell of an actress?
Whatever the right answer was, it could only upset him more. God, he wanted nothing more than for you to know he loved you.
The sun had still another few minutes to go before settling, and so you had taken a little detour from your walk to the beach to buy the two of you some coffee — on you, as you did not let him pay for it no matter how hard he fought it. Your date, the one he had planned, was not over yet after all.
Hyunjin couldn't help but feel like he had failed at that, too. He had brought you all the way here with the intent of asking you to be his girlfriend, yet the words 'I love you' had been said and suddenly he was out of words and letting you drag him out without even protesting.
If it weren't for how happy you looked back then and how happy he was to see your bright smile adorning your lips as you enjoyed the entirety of the exposition, he would've felt like it all had been pointless.
But there you were, on the other hand, playfully swinging your interlaced hands and sipping on your iced coffee as you walked to the beach. As if nothing had happened ten minutes ago.
A contagious smile took over your face when you finally reached the beach — one that he couldn't help but mirror, feeling at ease over the way your hand had tightened around his as you fastened your pace towards the sand.
You stopped just before the sand turned wet and the waves could reach your feet, yet were still close enough to feel the small drops of salty water that were dragged by the wind to lightly hit your body.
The sun had just started to go down, creating a blue canvas in the sky that turned darker with each passing second, and which was painted by bright strokes of pink and orange that mixed together at certain points.
You couldn't tell whether this was the most beautiful sunset you had ever seen, or whether it was only the fact that you had Hyunjin with you to watch it what made it so special.
Whatever the answer was, you couldn't take your eyes off of it — only doing so to look at Hyunjin when you felt his arms sneak around your waist and his chin rest on your shoulder. You could get used to this new habit of his.
"I always wanted to do this…" you sighed dreamingly, placing your hands over his.
"Do what?" he mumbled, looking up at you.
"You're gonna say it's corny".
"Tell me" he encouraged you.
"Watch the sunset with the person I… you know…" you laughed timidly.
Hyunjin felt a pinch in his chest, and he couldn't tell whether it was out of the insane amount of love he was feeling for you or out of pain.
He knew what you had wanted to say, and he knew you had stopped yourself from saying it not to make him uncomfortable — because, in the end, although his lack of previous response had not hurt you, it did make you fear you'd put him in a tough place if you kept saying it.
Pressing his lips to your shoulder and then clearing his throat, he pulled away from you. "I brought you something, by the way…"
"I thought you said there were no more surprises?" you cocked an eyebrow.
He chuckled, kneeling down on the sand before he took off his backpack and rummaged through it. "It's not really a surprise if we had agreed on making this for each other".
"You brought me your painting?!" you perked up at that, sitting down right next to him with crossed legs.
Hyunjin nodded, silently taking the painting out and handing it to you. "Your painting now, technically".
One look at it, and it had already become your favourite painting in the world.
You had made many portraits in your life, but you had never been on the other end of it. You had never seen yourself through someone else's eyes, and seeing yourself through Hyunjin's right there sent a million butterflies flying around your stomach.
It was funny how both of you had painted each other. However, both works of art were very different.
You had gone with a darker palette — ocean blue being the main star of it. Hyunjin, on the other hand, had gone for lighter colours like white, violet and yellow.
You had used more of a zoomed out picture of him —not like you had used an actual picture, as you had used nothing but your memory to paint that beautiful face of his you had fallen in love with at first sight—, and he had made your face justice by making it the main attraction.
However, although your face was the first thing that caught your eye, your attention and admiration went to the flowers he had painted around. The very same ones he had called you out about earlier that day.
"So… you like it?" Hyunjin asked softly, unable to hide just how nervous he was over your reaction.
"Baby…" your eyes fixed on his expectant one. "It's beautiful, I love it".
"You do?" he giggled.
"Yes, it's—" your eyes went back to the painting, and Hyunjin's smile grew brighter at the way you admired it. "Fuck, it's so beautiful I could cry".
"Now you know how I felt when I saw the one you made for me".
You smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I really love it, Jinnie. Thank you".
"Don't make me shy now…" he warned you breathily.
"Aw, can't the guy who lives for the spotlight at Mrs. Moon's class take a compliment now?" you taunted.
"It's different…" he rested his head on yours. "I had never painted something for anyone before".
And the fact that the first time he ever did it was for you did not help his case at all.
Your heart soared, and you couldn't help but press another kiss to his cheek — this time closer to the corner of his mouth.
"Well, I love it" you whispered. "Especially the small details of the daisies".
"Yeah… forget about me calling them basic earlier and all that".
You shoved him away with your shoulder as you laughed. "I want to believe this painting as a whole isn't calling me basic".
"I would never" he murmured against your lips, pressing a soft kiss to them.
"That's good," you smirked. "Because you drew a daisy on me once, so that would've been sad".
Hyunjin looked dumbfounded for a second before he got what you meant — a throaty yet somewhat nervous laugh making its way out of his mouth as he was flooded with memories of the night you first kissed.
He didn't think you'd even remember the small blue doodle of a daisy he had taken his time drawing on your neck.
He should've known better, though, for the first thing you did that night after he walked you home and you said your good nights was to go in front of a mirror and check your neck out. You were expecting to see an embarrassing drawing, the kind middle schoolers would draw on their friends' notebooks when they left them unattended, but you were met with a surprisingly neat daisy adorning your skin instead.
You had loved it, and although you were too shy to ever bring it up to him or to anyone else at all, it was a memory you had kept close to your heart. The first ever thing Hyunjin drew for you —or on you— being something you loved so much. And now the first ever proper painting he made for you had, too, made a beautiful inclusion of it.
"You've just made them your whole thing now, ever since we met" he explained. "So I think of you whenever I see them".
"You do?"
"Mhm… you're pretty like them".
"Just pretty?" you batted your eyelashes.
A low chuckle abandoned his mouth as he leaned in to kiss you. "Pretty beautiful, actually".
"Ew, when did you get so corny?" your nose scrunched up in disgust.
"Oh, don't act like you don't love it" his eyes squinted accusingly.
You giggled, shaking your head in disbelief. "God, I love you".
There it was again.
You had breathed those words out like it was so natural for you. Your eyes were no longer on him this time, though, but on the painting he had made for you instead, which could only make him feel like you hadn't even realised you had said it.
It just came that naturally to you.
"You used watercolor in the end" you pointed out, looking up at him with a smile.
"I don't think it was ever up for debate" he chuckled.
"I thought of using it as well…" you admitted, much to his surprise. "But then I thought about the painting I had started that night you came to the studio and thought I could finish it for you… it was all about you after all".
"That's why it looked so familiar" he brought a dramatic hand to his mouth.
"It's not like you got to see much of it back then" you shyly laughed.
"No, because your pretty face was taking up most of it".
You felt your cheeks heat up at his remark — not only because of the use of the word 'pretty', but also because of how your face lying on the fresh paint had been what led up to your first kiss.
"So, you were painting me in blue back then… should I be worried?"
You shrugged, this time a somewhat sad smile reaching your eyes. "You really did put me through a lot, Hwang Hyunjin".
He smiled sadly, too. "I know…"
"Although it was mostly my fault, because I was the one who kept chasing after you even when you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me" you nervously fidgeted with the sand under you. "And! The painting is not all blue as you can see, there are some bright colours, too. I added the yellow moon to the sky after that same night".
"Why the yellow moon, though?" he asked.
"Yellow makes me happy" you shrugged nonchalantly. "And the moon reminds me of you".
A bright smile parted Hyunjin's lips. "So you're saying I make you happy?"
"Shut up" you warned him.
"Do I make you happy, baby?" he cooed tauntingly.
"Of course you do…" you murmured, not meeting his eyes. "Now leave me alone, I'm embarrassed".
A throaty laugh escaped his mouth, not letting you push him away like you had playfully tried to do, and instead tugging at your wrist. "Noo, come here".
Before you could even protest, he was pulling you to his lap. You straddled it like he wanted, arms naturally resting over his shoulders while his hands fell loosely over your lower back.
You couldn't help but look around for a moment, suddenly hitting you that you were in a public place and anyone could see how lovey dovey you were being.
Luckily for you, the sun had just set completely and the beach was pretty much dessert — the only people who were still there were either friends catching up on their lives or couples who were already too into their own worlds to pay attention to anything else.
Two fingers on your chin brought your attention back to Hyunjin. His nose rubbed gently against yours and his lips brushed yours ever so softly.
"Kiss me" he whispered.
You rested your forehead on his and cupped his cheek before you whispered, "In front of all these people? While I'm sitting on your lap?"
"That's what I said".
"You think you'll be able to control yourself?"
He snorted quietly, shaking his head in amusement before he cupped your cheek instead and pressed his mouth to yours.
Guess you would just have to find out.
The hand of yours that was still over his shoulder tightened around his neck, right as his hand on your back pushed your chest closer to his and his tongue traced your bottom lip for you to open up. Once you did and your tongues met one another, he couldn't hold back the small contented sigh that abandoned his mouth.
The kiss was soft, slow, tender — not a single rush in the world as it felt like you were the only two people in it that night.
"I love you…"
It wasn't coming out of your lips this time, but out of his.
It came out as a whisper, barely audible if it weren't for his mouth being attached to yours, but there was not a single hint of hesitation in his voice.
Your eyes opened in a heartbeat, being met with his genuine yet surprised ones, as the words had seemed to have slipped out of his mouth before he could even notice.
Maybe it was that easy to say those three words after all.
"What?" you asked in a whisper, pulling him slightly away by his shoulders. "No, Jinnie, I didn't… I wasn't expecting y—I wasn't trying to pressure you when I said—"
Your trembling rambling was shut down with a soft kiss of his.
"You really think I would say it if I didn't mean it? After how fucking hard I tried to avoid love all these years?"
"Why didn't you say it back at the exhibition then?" you frowned.
"I froze," he shamefully admitted. "I wanted to say it back so bad but I just couldn't get the words out".
"You mean it?" you whispered, still in disbelief.
"Of course I mean it. I've been struggling not to say it for a while now, too, but then you said it first… twice… and I guess I got too stunned to say anything back".
"Seems like I'm always one step ahead of you when it comes to love" you proudly stated.
"That you are" he agreed, smiling sweetly while his thumb drew small circles on your chin. "I really love you, Y/N".
You pouted, feeling like you could cry out of happiness right then and there. "I love you, too".
He pulled you into a kiss, probably the happiest one you had shared, as the curved up corners of your lips and the breathy laughs escaping them made it hard for you to suck on them.
"Is that why you brought me here?" you asked against his pink mouth. "To tell me this?"
He bit his lip, lowering his head and fidgeting with your fingers. "It was actually so I could ask you to be my girlfriend…"
Your heart skipped a beat, having to take a moment not to let out a squeal. "You planned to ask me at the beach all along?"
"No, um… I was supposed to ask you at the exposition, actually" he tilted his head. "But then you told me you loved me and I froze and, well…"
"You really had that much of a hard time trying to ask me?"
"No, I mean, I don't know?" he whined. "You're just, you".
"What is that supposed to mean?" you laughed under your breath.
"It means that I wanted it to be perfect but then again I still get so nervous around you and feelings are still ugh, and I get all—you make me so flustered, woman".
You threw your head back, this time laughing with your whole chest over how cute his troubled expression was.
"Aw, I love that" coming back to look at him, you pulled him in to kiss his nose. "You're adorable".
"That's not really the reaction I was going for…" he joked.
"You know it didn't have to be perfect, right? You could've just asked me while we were hanging out back at yours or mine, or even after class for all I care" you tenderly pushed back a strand of hair that was covering his eye. "I would've said yes regardless".
"I asked you when we were in bed the first time and you said no" he pouted.
"You were drunk," you reminded him, earning an obnoxiously cute shrug from him. "I wanted you to mean it when you said it".
"I did mean it" he fought.
"I wanted you to say it without the influence of alcohol in the middle then".
"Alcohol made it easier, though" Hyunjin pouted.
You cupped his face as a small laugh escaped your mouth. "I bet it did" your thumb traced the corner of his mouth, where you pressed a light kiss to. "And for the record, I never said no".
"You told me to ask you again when I was sober".
"Which made it implicit that I was saying yes".
"Are you saying yes now then?"
"If you ask me properly…" you sighed over-dramatically. "Then possibly".
"You're just playing with me at this point" he recriminated, earning an amused chuckle from you.
"Maybe…" you taunted him, wrapping your arms around his neck. "Do you know the implications of me becoming your girlfriend, though, Hwang Hyunjin?"
"Of course I know," he smirked, pulling you in. "It means you'll be all mine".
You bit your bottom lip. "It also means you'll be all mine, though".
He shrugged. "I've already been for a while now".
"I've also been yours for a while now. A pretty good while, actually".
Hyunjin chuckled, his hand running up and down your back. "Maybe, but now I'll be able to go up to any douchebag who tries to hit on you and let them know you're mine".
"Haven't you already done that?" you chuckled, and his smirk only grew. "You even used the word 'girlfriend' if I'm not mistaken, which I was not back then".
His plump lips trapped your bottom one in between, gently sucking on it before he slowly pulled at it with his teeth.
"Be my girlfriend then? For real?" he mumbled against your lips, and you felt like you would die when his hungry eyes stared at your mouth for a couple of seconds before they went up to your eyes.
You nodded, because words were not something you could speak anymore.
"Words, baby" he pushed it. "I need you to say it".
"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Jinnie".
His eyes turned into two crescent moons, and suddenly you realised why the moon reminded you of him. With a breathy giggle leaving his mouth, he pulled you into another kiss — the first one you would share as an official couple.
Looking back at it, you couldn't believe you were living all this with the guy who used to avoid your attempts —or avoid you as a whole— and who claimed not to want a relationship, ever. You couldn't believe your feelings were returned in the end, and that he actually wanted to be with you in a serious, formal relationship.
But here you were, in a Busan beach after the sun went down, sitting on his lap while one of his hands remained on your lower back and the other one on your nape, sharing a kiss that somehow managed to be more special than all the others you had shared that day.
"What's so funny?" he wondered when a small, breathy laugh ran past your lips.
"I managed to get you in the end, huh?" you giggled, earning an amused roll of eyes from him. "Was I too charming for you not to fall for me, baby?"
"Don't let it get to your head" he warned you.
"Oh, I would never" you smirked.
Hyunjin shook his head in amusement, pulling you in to plant a kiss on your forehead right as you shivered. "It's getting cold..." he pointed out, looking around to realise there was no one else at the beach anymore. "Let's go back to the hotel, yeah?"
You nodded, standing up from his lap and offering him a hand to help him up before you could pick up the half emptied cups of coffee. "Should we get something to eat?"
"You're hungry?" he asked while putting his backpack on.
"Not really," you shrugged, handing him his coffee. "But it's late…"
"We could order some food later" he suggested, pulling you closer and stealing a lingering kiss from your addictive lips. "Just want to head straight to our hotel room now".
"I'm guessing you did bring a condom this time around?" you teased, although you both knew you were half serious.
"Tsk. Of course I did. Learned my lesson the hard way with you" he shook his head. "Besides, I was being quite optimistic about today".
"Oh, were you now?"
"Mhm..." he nodded, interlocking his fingers with yours before you started walking back to the hotel. "I actually brought like fifteen of them".
You laughed. "Don't test your luck, Hwang Hyunjin".
"You did say we had all night to ourselves".
"You said that".
"And you agreed".
Hearing your laugh right then and feeling you lean closer to him in look for warmth, he could only feel the luckiest to have you with him.
Things had not exactly gone according to plan today, and despite it making him upset at first, it was that little detour what allowed him to hear you say you loved him. And although it took him a while, he, too, had told you he loved you.
It was that little detour what allowed him to ask you to be his girlfriend without feeling like his heart would break out of his chest at any given moment — though he did still feel nervous when he asked you anyway. But it was natural, the words had made their way out of his mouth effortlessly, not even giving him time to chicken out like he had done a couple of times by now.
And somehow, that little moment of yours at the beach, ignoring the world around you as nothing and no one else seemed to matter, had been so much more special than anything he could've ever planned.
In the end, he realised he didn't have to try so hard and instead let things take their own course and go on their own pace. When it came to you, no matter what happened, you would be able to find your way back to each other. The two of you could always count on that.
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